


Hearts, Heists, and Holmes

by Phantoms_Echo



Series: Sentinel&Guide Universe [7]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, Complete, Dead Body, G!Hakuba, G!Kaito, G!Kazuha, Hakuba and Hattori are trying to make it work, Hattori is Bad Ass, It's detective conan, Kaito's Magical Guide Powers, Kaito's poor coping skills, M/M, Mind Meld, More HakuHei than first thought, Murder Mystery, Of course there's a dead body, S!Conan, S!Hattori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-05-26 21:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15010142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantoms_Echo/pseuds/Phantoms_Echo
Summary: In which Kazuha tracks Hakuba down for stealing her boy, Hattori meets Kaitou KID, and Kuroba is, unfortunately, left to his own devices.Conan just wants to solve mysteries, okay? Is that too much to ask?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the ideas and events behind this fic.
> 
> PS - So... remember about 8 months ago when I said that I was gonna make an update? And that it was going to have 7-ish chapters? Well... it doesn't. It has more.  
> So the reason this update took so long went kind of like this...
> 
> Author: Okay, I’ve got this planned out. Seventh installment, seven chapters, got it?  
> Heiji: … I see your seven chapters... and raise you one.  
> Kaito: I see your *eight* chapters and raise you... one.  
> Conan: I see your nine chapters and raise you *three* because *this is a mystery murder series and I demand a murder scene!*  
> Author: Not everything is about *murder!*  
> Conan: Try telling that to someone who *doesn’t make a living off it!*  
> Author: What is wrong with you!?  
> Conan: You brought this on yourself!  
> Hakuba: … [Looks down at cards] I thought we were playing go fish?
> 
> And so, Conan got his wish. My second attempt at an *actual* murder mystery scene. Let's see if it's any better than my first in the Tantei Koshien (SGN version).

_Tonight I shall strike when the sky is aflame_

_And the crowd is calling and cheering my name._

_Like Icarus’ flight I shall soar through the sky_

_But fall to the sun, not so, shall I._

_Despite how close I am to the heat,_

_Death is the fate the sun shall meet._

_-Kaitou KID_

 

Hakuba surveyed the museum with a critical gaze. He and the other officers on the KID Taskforce had narrowed down the heist’s location to a small, local place that held a few items on tour from Greece, one of which was that night’s target: Icarus’ Wings.

Centered in the Museum’s largest exhibit hall, the jewel was an ornate piece with twin wings curving around a palm sized red-brown amber. The wings themselves were etched gold, with the feathers being made of thin gold leaf. The amber was said to shine like the sun under the right light and, indeed, shone brilliantly where it sat beneath the center of the skylight. It was obvious that this was KID’s target.

What wasn’t obvious, was how he would get to it.

‘Soar through the sky’ implied that KID would travel by his beloved hang glider, but due to its location in the suburbs, the museum was the largest building for several blocks. It’s possible he meant to _leave_ by air… but, again, the museum was the largest, only by a taller than standard ceiling. The measurements done signified that KID would be unable to lift off and gain proper air. No, it had to be another method.

Hakuba’s eyes skated over Edogawa’s form for the fifth time that night. He frowned to himself, feeling his thoughts drift from the heist at hand.

When he had first arrived, everything had been as he had specified, sans two details: An addition of both Kuroba and Edogawa. The young KID Killer had been a pleasant surprise, since Hakuba knew he could count on him to thwart Kaitou KID’s plans. Kuroba… less so.

However, as the night wore on, Hakuba began to notice some things, or rather, one thing in particular.

Edogawa’s mind was being shielded from him.

It was subtle at first, something Hakuba didn’t notice until he actively spoke with the child. In past conversations, he could feel the child’s inner mind turning and calculating in a slightly hypnotic way. Their first meeting had left him unsettled, but after that, he knew what to expect –or thought he did. Now, though… now he felt nothing from the boy, no cunning scheming, no childish interest, only silence.

For what reason though?

Hakuba couldn’t understand it. Why was there a mental shield around Conan’s mind?

The kid wasn’t a Sentinel, nor a Guide, as far as Hakuba knew. The boy didn’t even seem to realize he was being cloaked by some strange Guide. He was merely a six-year-old child; nothing special.  He had no reason to be shielded and yet…

But what Guide was strong enough to create a shielded to keep Hakuba out? A presence that strong, Hakuba should have sensed it as soon as he walked into the building. But he felt nothing.

And again, why Conan-kun? Why a child of no particular significance?

(And so he was back to the beginning of the endless loop his thoughts had become.)

Hakuba was broken from his musing by a sharp: “ _HEY_!”’

Every officer in the area startled, not to mention the small entourage of detectives. Every eye turned to where a girl stood –sixteen, plainly dressed, pony-tail, slightly familiar. When she had their attention, she put her hands on her hips. “Where is Hakuba?”

Like a wave, every officer turned to him. Hakuba shrunk back. He’d had hundreds of eyes on him before, but… not like this.

The girl’s frown deepened as they locked eyes. “ _You_.”

“Kazuha-nee-chan?” Hakuba heard Conan-kun call. “What are you-?”

“You’re Hakuba, right?” Her glare promised horrible things if he lied. Hakuba swallowed and nodded. “I don’t know what you told Heiji to keep him from bonding with me, but you better take it back _right now_ , or I’ll-!”

“Miss, um…” What was her last name?”

“Toyama,” Conan whispered.

Ah, right. “Toyama-san, I’m sorry, but I don’t-?”

“Don’t go playing _innocent_ with me!” she snapped, voice becoming more desperate as she spoke. “You told Hattori something to keep him from bonding with me! Even though we _promised_ to go through this thing together back when I first came online! Hattori _never_ breaks a promise! So whatever you told him, _take it back_ or _I’ll make you_!”

Hakuba frowned, pieces suddenly falling into place. He remembered her from the first Tantei Koshien. She and Mori-san had arrived by boat after Hattori failed to check in. This was the Rank D Guide that Hattori had been attempting to bond. Hakuba couldn’t allow her any misconceptions.

Knowing what had to be done, he straightened his shoulders and addressed her. “I didn’t tell Hattori-san anything but the truth. If you two were to bond, the consequences-!”

“To hell with the consequences!” she shouted, something glistening at the corner of her eyes. Were those… _tears_?! Oh, please, no! Hakuba couldn’t handle crying women! “We made a _promise_! Heiji and I –we said we’d be together forever! Through everything! When I registered as a Guide, he said he’d become a Sentinel so that nothing could come between us!”

Those were very much tears, but her face showed anything _but_ sadness. “I won’t let _you_ make him break that promise!”

“Toyama-san, I didn’t _force_ Hattori-san to change his mind,” Hakuba said soothingly. “You, more than anyone, should know how hard that would be. If he wants to believe in something, in some _one_ , he’ll do so until he has proven his faith with evidence. Doubly so for someone as precious to him as you.”

Kazuha crossed her arms, but the look on her face was shifting to be less sure.

“I only told Hattori-san the truth. If you two were to bond, his Sentinel senses would overpower you,” Hakuba continued quietly. “He would hurt you beyond repair.”

“I don’t care if I get hurt!” she shouted, as if being louder would drown out the truth of his words.

“You don’t think Hattori-san would?” Hakuba reasoned. “You don’t think he would care that he put you in the hospital –this time for _good_? You don’t think he would care that he took your life, your _future_ , away from you? His most precious friend? You think he wouldn’t care?”

Kazuha gathered herself up, shoulders stiff as if she were about to lay into him… and then like that, the girl fell apart.

Hakuba saw her knees go weak and caught her before she could drop to the ground. She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing. “But I-! Our bond of steel! He became a Sentinel for me! I need to take responsibility! I need to-!”

“If it was meant to be, Hattori would have come online whether you were a Guide or not. No amount of will on his part could have changed that. The fact that he is a higher level than you can handle…” Hakuba hesitated, allowing her to dry her eyes in his jacket. “It is unfortunate that Fate played out the way it did.”

Her shoulders jerked, though her sobs remained relatively quiet. Hakuba awkwardly patted her on the back, ignoring the eyes of the Taskforce and Kuroba off to the side. Ugh, why did KID have to be here to see this?

“Kazuha-nee-chan?”

Hakuba looked down at Conan. The child watched the girl with worry in his eyes. A spark of realization; that wasn’t worry for Kazuha.

“Where’s Hattori-nii-san?” Conan asked, his voice quivering slightly.

Hattori wasn’t here. Kazuha was. From the way the Osakan acted, it seemed like they were nearly joined at the hip. The fact that he wasn’t...

“He’s… he’s at the Center in Osaka.” Kazuha pulled away with a sniffle. “He went into a Rage this morning. I tried to help him, calm him down, but…”

She swallowed thickly and hugged herself as if to keep from breaking down again. “He rejected me.”

Hakuba’s breath caught in his throat.

“He rejected me and had to be restrained,” she continued bravely. “He’s sedated for now, but the Center is scrambling to find a Rank A Guide to attempt to bond him. I know… he talked about you. I may not know you and I may not like you for taking Heiji away, but…” She glared at him, eyes now determined. “I’d rather you Bond him than someone unknown person. He trusts _you_. He’s told me about you. He said that, if it had to be anyone, it’d be you.”

To know the hot-blooded teen that he clashed with on occasion respected him enough to trust him with his mind, with his very _inner self_ … there were no words to express what Hakuba was feeling. It was one part pride, two parts fear of failure, and one part something else _entirely_ , for which he had no name.

“Is something wrong, Hakuba-kun?” Nakamori called, looking between Hakuba and Kazuha. At his side, Kuroba watched them, eyes sharp. Hakuba wondered how much the magician had heard, but decided that wasn’t important right now.

“Apologies, Inspector. Something has come up.” Hakuba started towards the exit. “You’ll have to prepare for the heist without me. Toyama-san, if you could take the lead…?”

He had a Sentinel to get to.

*             *             *             *             *

Kaito scowled as the two Guides (the only two in the _entire building_ besides himself) ran out the door.

He had been worried when he’d first seen Tan – _Kudou Shinichi_ at his heist, had been afraid that Hakuba would start digging through the other’s mind if he noticed anything off between the two supposedly strangers. Kudou must have felt the same because his mind had been like a blaring siren the first instant he caught sight of Kaito and would have continued if Kaito hadn’t hurried to cover it up.

He’d scowled at the brat who gave him a cheeky smile back.

Hakuba had taken longer than Kaito expected to notice Kaito’s shield, but then again, Kaito’s skills were unmatched. This fact was proven by Hakuba’s inability to sneak around or break through the barrier. It was impenetrable to other Guides, even other Rank As. Kaito was proud. Problems solved, all he had to do was sit back until the time of the heist and then put his plan into action…

At least, that was until the girl had shown up.

Kaito kept a close watch on the interaction between the other two Guides and an even closer ear on their conversation. With Tantei-kun standing so close, Kaito heard every word that he did, along with Kudou’s own commentary and observations. When the girl started crying, Tantei-kun’s thoughts grew tense, but not for the obvious reason.

No, Kaito could feel his worry about this Hattori fellow even more.

Then the two Guides were retreating, Hakuba mentally packing a list of items (so loud Kaito didn’t even have to _try_ to listen). The only thought through the girl’s mind seemed to be a hospital room and a rather terrifying scene on repeat.

Now that a crucial part of his plan had just run out the front doors, Kaito grumbled and sighed to himself before a puff of smoke popped over Inspector Nakamori’s head and a plain white card drifted down.

_It appears that some unforeseen event has stolen Tantei-san’s attention tonight._

_It is a shame to postpone,_

_but a game must have all of its pieces and a show all of its actors._

_Until next time, Keibu._

_-Kaitou KID_

“Kaiiiiitou KIIIIIIIDDDD!!!” Nakamori crumbled the piece of paper in his hand, ears steaming in anger. Kaito chuckled quietly as he ducked into a small alcove off to the side.

Eyes spying his favorite detective, Kaito gave a few light tugs on the other’s mind until the boy excused himself with a shout of “Toilet!” and ran over to Kaito’s hiding spot, frown on his face. Kaito grinned.

“Can you stop doing that?” Kudou asked, a petulant scowl on his face. “Hakuba’s gone and so is Kazuha. You don’t need to shield me anymore and you don’t need to Nudge me!”

“Aw, but it’s fun!” Kaito’s smile widened, even as he withdrew his presence. “I don’t get to do it often, you know!”

“Have your fun on someone else,” the boy grumbled. “Now, did you need something?”

“What were they talking about?” Kaito asked without preamble. “Who’s Hattori and why is he in the hospital?”

The boy tensed up, face set like stone before he let out a slow breath and started to explain. “Hattori... is a Sentinel like me. _Exactly_ like me. He came online about a year earlier and managed to make it this far on Senes alone. The girl, Toyama Kazuha, is a Rank D Guide, who has been helping him as much as she can with the Zones and Rages, but… there’s not much more she can do. They tried at one point to bond…”

“Let me guess, hospital.” Kaito crossed his arms, looking out to where the Guides had disappeared. “I’m assuming it wasn’t pretty.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Conan shrugged. “But he hasn’t tried to bond since. In fact, it sounded like Hakuba had talked him out of it completely, or at least, with Kazuha.”

“By the way Hakuba ran out, I’d say it was by offering himself.” Kaito scuffed his shoe against ground. “That makes things worse for me.”

This piqued Tantei-kun’s interest. “How so?”

“You’re friends with this Hattori person, yeah?” Kaito stared at him hard. “So you must have told him about me.”

Blue eyes hardened against the accusation. “I told him the very basics. I went into a Zone, KID helped me out of it. I didn’t tell him where we met or what you look like or even your name.”

“Oh?” Kaito raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought there were no secrets among detectives.”

Tantei-kun frowned, then pouted. “He told me not to tell him. He was worried about Hakuba finding out if they bonded. He thought he could make it a few more months on the Senes medication… guess he miscalculated.”

“Why wouldn’t he want Hakuba to know?” Kaito cocked his head to the side, curious. “Again, secrets among detectives.”

“Hattori… believes… that I need every advantage I can get, when I’m…” Conan made a face. “Like this.”

“Oh-ho?” Kaito’s grin turned shark-like. “And I’m an advantage, am I?”

Tantei-kun scowled at him, not liking the look on his face. “For now, you are. How long you remain so, has yet to be seen.”

“Oh, Tantei-kun, how hurtful!”

“Are we done here?” Tantei-kun persisted, looking over to where Mouri and Mouri-san were waiting for him. “I have a train to catch to Osaka that I needed to be on _this morning_. If you have any more questions…?”

“I know where to find you.” Kaito flashed another cheerful smile before waving the boy off. Well, that was one less thing to worry about amongst all his other plans.

Now, when would be a good time to plan his encore?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the events and ideas behind this fic.
> 
> PS - Don't know if you guys know this, but I can see some of the comments you make on your bookmarks. :) There's a really funny one that just says: Things are a mess. 
> 
> :) I laugh every time I see it. :D
> 
> Also, this update is a little late coming out. I had a hectic day and just about to head to bed. If there are any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know! I'll try to fix them as soon as possible!

Heiji woke up to the droning of the memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and groaned. Seriously, if this was going to be his life, he’d rather _not_. Couldn’t the bastard pick something _better_?

“ _I heard that_ ,” a voice in his ear and his head snapped. Heiji winced at the duality. Oh yeah. It hadn’t been that long since their last… _thing_ , which meant the effects had come back two-fold.

“ _Quite_ ,” the voice said again, more outwardly as Heiji started to control his body instead of the reverse. “I imagine Sentinels have a similar response to a pre-bond as Guides do?”

“If by ‘response’, y’mean wantin’ to shove you under a blanket ‘n take a bite outta anyone that comes near,” Heiji grumbled as he wiggled his fingers and toes. The ring finger and pinkie of his left hand were splinted and the wrist of his right was bruised, but other than that, he was fine.

“Interesting,” Hakuba said. “Not like a Guide then… you hurt your hand when the doctors tried to sedate you and your wrist when you fought the restraints.”

Heiji… had a _vague_ memory of trying to claw some guy’s face off. And of trying to get free, _caught, stomach exposed, not good, **not good**!_

_“Hattori, calm down!”_

**_ Not Kazuha-! _ ** _ Can’t have Kazuha! **Can’t-!** _

_“Snap out of it!”_ that voice ordered, causing Heiji to shake his head to clear the haze. He blinked rapidly and wiped at his face as if to swipe out the blurs. When he’d come back to himself (again), Heiji saw Hakuba watching him intently.

“It’s getting worse,” Hakuba noted. “Are you always this violent?”

“You could say th’ protective instincts are strong in this one.” At Hakuba’s unimpressed look, Heiji sighed and explained. “A suspect was bad-mouthing Guides.” Heiji shrugged. “Something in me wanted to knock his block off, so I did. Problem was… I couldn’t stop.”

“Protective instincts indeed.” Hakuba raised a brow. “And what about a few minutes ago?”

“Residual flashes,” Heiji answered without hesitation. “I started to fall into the memory of coming here.”

“That seems… dangerous.”

“Eh, happens.” Heiji shrugged again. He picked at the bandages on his left hand until an unspoken order stopped him. He grimaced at Hakuba, then sighed. “So we’re doing this now, I guess?”

“Well, I _did_ leave a KID heist to come here.” Hakuba crossed his arms. “I am glad that you decided to listen to my advice. I apologize, though, for the unnecessary strain it put on you and your relationship with Toyama-san.”

“Don’t go ‘pologizin’. It’s in the past.” Heiji let his arms flop back, careful to keep his eyes on the ceiling. “So, how do you want to do this?”

“Pardon?”

“You want top or bottom?” Heiji reiterated, ignoring the way his cheeks heated. Hakuba choked at his bluntness. “‘Cause I won’t lie. I’d prefer top, but… you are going through with this ‘cause I asked. If… it would make you feel more _comfortable_ …”

“We are _not_ having sex,” Hakuba ground out. Startled, Heiji’s gaze snapped over, zeroing on the foreigner’s bright red cheeks. Pale skin like that colored so easily compared to Heiji’s -compared to Kazuha even! Then his words registered.

“What do you-?” Heiji frowned. “You mean you changed your mind?”

It… was understandable. It hurt, Heiji was _counting on him_ to an extent he hadn’t realized until now, but he could still understand the change of heart. The two times they’d met recently, Heiji had either gone into a Rage or already been in one. That’s a lot to deal with going into a bond, more than Hakuba might want to take responsibility for.

Heiji _might_ be able to find…

“Of course I haven’t!” Hakuba huffed, cheeks still tinted pink. “But we don’t have to do… _that_ to bond!”

“We don’t?” This was news to Heiji.

“Japanese, honestly!” Hakuba grumbled to himself before continuing more loudly. “Despite how well known they are, sexual bonds are actually uncommon. In my country, less than 10% of bonds come from intercourse. Most come from non-sexual means of concentration.”

“So, like… staring at each other until it happens?” Heiji asked. That didn’t sound fun in the _least_. He’d rather do it than just sit there.

“More like a duel, you are a swordsman, yes?” Hakuba raised an eyebrow. “That would be equivalent to the nature of a sexual bond, just a give and take of a different sort.”

Oh.

Huh.

Sword-fighting? Heiji’s Kendo against Hakuba’s fencing? Hmm… yeah.

Yeah, _that_ was something Heiji could get behind.

As if sensing his thoughts, perhaps he had, Hakuba frowned down at the Sentinel. “I’m glad it’s met your approval, but I won’t be doing any victory dance just yet. Though we are both men of the sword, I refuse to fight an opponent that is injured.”

“ _Injured_?” Heiji squawked, sitting up abruptly... and fighting off the wave of nausea that followed. Ugh, he must have been lying down longer than he thought. “I’m not injured! This here? It’s nothing!”

“Hattori, your fingers are broken.”

“I can take you, one hand tied behind my back.”

“Hattori, your other wrist is bruised. You can’t hold a sword.”

“I’ll fight with my teeth. I’m sure I saw someone holding a sword like that before.”

_“I am not fighting you!”_

Heiji frowned at the other teen before his lips quirked up in a smug look. “You just don’t want to lose to an injured person.”

Hakuba flushed bright red, in anger this time. “This is _not_ up for discussion! We will wait the recommended eight to ten weeks for your fingers to heal and _then_ decide how we are going about the bond.”

Heiji turned to the wall to pout.

“Besides, I thought you weren’t ready to bond yet.” Hakuba’s voice from behind made Heiji tense. “Or, has that changed in the week since we saw each other?”

No, it really hadn’t.

Kudou was still trapped inside the body of Conan Edogawa and neither of them were any closer to unmasking the Black Organization. In truth, if Heiji could avoid bonding for eternity and get away with it, he would. Facts being what they were, he couldn’t, so he would have to make due with Hakuba and see if he could be trusted with not only someone’s identity, but with their very life at stake.

No, Heiji needed time to test, to be _sure_ …

“You’re thinking very hard on something,” Hakuba said from behind him. “Is this person you are protecting that precious?”

If only he knew…

“Hey, I’m starving,” Heiji said instead of answering. He turned over to give the Brit a dead-eyed look. “When are we gonna eat?”

Hakuba sputtered, mouth gaping for a few moments before burying his face in his hand. “Have you no _tact_?”

“Nah, not really,” Heiji replied, moving to get up –only to find his feet firmly stuck in thick restraints. “Little help here? I can never remember how these things come off.”

“Remember…?” Hakuba looked a little pale… well, paler than normal. “You’ve been in them _before_?!”

Heiji cocked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Hakuba stared.

“Oi, are you getting me out of here or not?” Heiji prodded the other into action and between the two of them, they managed to get him free.

“I’ll speak with the nurse about releasing you,” Hakuba said, already half-way out the door. Heiji felt a momentary lurch in his stomach, but… no, Hakuba was just out in the hall. He could still feel the echo of the other’s words in the back of his mind. If the Guide were to get into trouble, Heiji would be there within seconds.

Smothering his Instincts as best as he could, Heiji dug around the top drawer of the only dresser in the room and found the clothes he had come in that morning… or was it yesterday?

Stripping out of the hospital gown they’d forced him into, Heiji felt like he was shedding a dirty layer of himself along with it. It made him feel cold and new, too sensitive for the harsh world. He quickly dressed himself again, reveling in the feeling of his own clothes, the smell of his home, and the familiar fit of his hat atop his head.

Much better.

“You done in there?” Hakuba called from the hall. “The nurse needs you to sign something before they officially release you.”

“Can’t you do it?” Heiji groaned as he checked his pockets. Yep, got everything. “You’re the acting Guide. Shouldn’t your word be the final say?”

“It’s simple procedure,” Hakuba replied. “Making sure that I’m not coercing you into leaving against your will and whatnot. I had to sign one that stated basically the same, but in reversed positions.”

“Huh, that’s new,” Heiji noted as he took the form. “My parents never had to sign this.”

“They have different rights and weren’t looking to Match with you,” Hakuba said, taking the clipboard when Heiji had finished. “This is because we are Guide and Sentinel, yet not currently registered as a Match. Something I plan to fix immediately.”

Heiji scrutinized the other teen, but ultimately shrugged. He didn’t care. As long as it got him out of the Center, he was cool with it. Spying a set of pale doors, Heiji left Hakuba to have a few quiet words with the nurse and instead pushed through the doors.

On the other side, he was surprised to find his whole family waiting there… plus extras.

“Heiji!” Kazuha threw her arms around him and squeezed within an inch of his life.

“K-K-Kazuha!” Heiji choked out. “Can’t… breathe!”

“Oh!” She released her grip and quickly stepped away. Her hands fluttered nervously, not sure where to go before she settled them in the crook of her arms. That was… strange. She wasn’t normally this stand-offish…?

Then he noticed her gaze trail behind him to where Hakuba had followed him out the door. Oh. _Oh_.

“We ain’t bonded yet, Kazuha,” Heiji said bluntly, watching her eyes and those of his parents widen in surprise.

“But I thought…?” Kazuha looked between them, incomprehension plain on her face.

“I would rather my partner not be injured when we bond,” Hakuba cut in, forcing Heiji’s hand up to show off his fingers. “But I assure you, I will not get angry at you afterwards if you and he are still close. After all, your bond was forged in steel, yes?”

“I –yes!” She blushed at his words while Heiji scowled. When did Hakuba become his keeper? He couldn’t tell Heiji who he could and couldn’t hang out with! The eye roll from the blonde said he knew as much.

“So then…” Heiji’s father cut in, voice hedging. “You will bond when Heiji is healed?”

“Yeah in eight weeks or so.” Heiji waved him off. “It’s not my dominant hand, so I don’t have to use it as often. It should heal up quickly.”

“Hattori-nii-san!” Conan waved from where he sat between Ran and Mouri. “You’re okay!”

“Hi Ku-onan!” Heiji recovered quickly.  He walked over to kneel by his friend as Hakuba and his family worked out arrangements. “‘Course I am! Nothing can put me down for long!”

Ran let out a giggle before turning to Kazuha, falling into quiet discussion. Mouri was absorbed in a magazine on hand – _Sports Illustrated_ by the cover. Hattori gave a quick look, _coast clear_ , before he leaned in. “Hey, did you know there are other forms of bonding besides… you know?”

Conan stared at him… then face palmed.

“Of course there is!” he hissed, so low that Heiji had to dial up his sense to hear. “You could google about a million different ways to bond! Sex isn’t the be-all-end-all, idiot!”

“Oi! I didn’t know! I thought it was just…?”

“You were thinking with your lower brain, which is not smart at all, by the way.” Conan scowled at him. “With Kazuha, it might not have mattered –you are close, familiar with each other. It would have been the next step. Hakuba is different.”

“I don’t know him as well and aren’t as comfortable with him.” Heiji glanced over his shoulder to see golden eyes trained on him.

“And you fight like cats and dogs.”

“Hey!” Heiji whipped back around to bare his teeth at the grinning boy. He paused and frowned. “Wait a minute, why do you know so much about this? Normally, it’s me teachin’ you about Sentinel stuff.”

At the question, Conan got shifty, eyes trailing down to Heiji’s shoulder, then the top of his head when Heiji ducked down.

“Kuuuudoooou…” Heiji growled threateningly.

“It… started with our phone conversation,” Conan began. “I was curious about how it would go, the various steps, percentage of success, et cetera. I over analyze when something makes me nervous.”

“But it didn’t stop there.” Heiji knew his friend. “It didn’t stop with me.”

Conan sighed. “I… may have found a Guide willing to bond with me once all of this is over. One I wouldn’t mind bonding with. We’re… fairly compatible, all things considered, but…”

“Does he know? That you’re…?”

“Yeah.” Conan wrinkled his nose. “Not by choice.”

“Did he dig around in your head?” Heiji felt his temper start to surface, but it faded as Conan shook his head.

“Accidental Zone,” Conan said. “He helped me out, got more than he bargained for. I managed to keep the Black Organization out of it, but he knows far more than I’m comfortable with.”

“Accidental…?” Heiji reeled back, nearly shouting. “You mean _Kaitou KID_?!”

“What’s this about KID?” Hakuba asked, leaning over Hattori’s shoulder.

_Shit_! Hattori internally cursed and covered his mouth. This was _exactly_ what he was afraid of! If Conan knew KID and they bonded and told Heiji, then Hakuba could reasonably use his testimony to get Conan’s Guide _thrown in jail_ and-!

“I was telling Hattori-nii-san where we were coming from!” Conan said, all childish perk. Heiji subtly flashed him a thumbs-up. “Hattori-nii-san is always jealous when I get to go to heists!”

Okay, _that_ was pushing it, Kudou.

“Really now?” Hakuba looked between the two of them before settling on Conan with a smile. “Well, Heiji-kun won’t be jealous for long. With him moving into the area, he’ll have plenty of time to test wits against KID.”

Wait…

“ _EEEEEH_?” The Osakan and child shrieked together. Hakuba looked taken aback.

“What do you mean I’m _moving_?!” Heiji grabbed him by the padded shoulder of his uniform. “This is news to me!”

“Your parents and I were just discussing it.” Hakuba blinked at him, completely at ease with Heiji invading his personal space. “They decided that I had fewer accommodations with them than I could offer myself. My father also played a part in that, given that my house is well-secured against any outside threats. It seemed more reasonable to have you move in with me than the other way around.”

Heiji sputtered at Hakuba, then turned to direct his sputters at his parents.

“Don’t worry, Hei-chan!” his mother cooed. “We’ll visit you every weekend! I’ll even send care packages!”

“Just think of it as a test run to when you actually move out,” his father added, unhelpfully.

“No matter where you end up, Heiji, I’ll make sure to see you once in a while!” Kazuha promised whole-heartedly.

“See?” Hakuba gestured to them. “They approve.”

And, well, Heiji couldn’t exactly say no to that.

Besides, this meant he could see Kudou more often, right? Right.

Heiji tried to tell himself that the trade-off was worth it, but even Conan looked dour at the thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I *did* go back and read the previous few installments that I wrote, but I still didn't get a good feel that Hattori knew what was going on with Kaito and Conan. If you thought differently, I respect that, but right now, Hattori is learning just how serious Conan is about Kaito. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the ideas and events behind this fic.
> 
> PS - Remember how I said that there was more HakuHei than originally thought? :) Yeah, there's more. I really need to gear this more towards Shinichi and Kaito again. :/ Hmm...

Turns out, Heiji had not spent one day in the Center, he’d spent _three_. Three days that he wasn’t aware of, didn’t even realize he’d _missed_ until they were mentioned. It left him bereft and a little in fear of his own Instincts.

It also meant he missed the weekend. Dang.

It was late afternoon when they all left the Center and after a brief, but energetic dinner, they retired at Heiji’s place for the night. The next morning, Heiji packed a week’s worth of clothes into a duffle bag and headed to the train station with Conan and the others. Hours later, they’d arrived at Tokyo and the group separated, Conan and the Mouris taking off as Heiji and Hakuba made their way to Hakuba’s place.

A leisurely stroll later, Heiji found himself at Hakuba’s front gate. The duffle sagged down his shoulder as he took in the sight of Hakuba’s house.

Well… kind-of house.

“This is not a house,” Heiji stated as he looked up at the building.

“Of course it is,” Hakuba argued. “It is a shelter with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, a garage, and a bathroom. There are also multiple rooms with entertainment. By all rights, this is a house, _my_ house.”

“It’s not a house,” Hattori said again. “It’s a _mansion_.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Hakuba’s house was _huge_.

Don’t get him wrong. Heiji had a nice house –two bedrooms, one and a half baths, right on the edge of the city where he could bus to just about anywhere. Heiji’s house was nothing to sneeze at.

Hakuba’s place was a _mansion_ , even bigger than Kudou’s place –and that was saying something.

Hakuba scowled at him.

“ _Young master_ ,” the lady at the door greeted in English. Her hands held several envelopes perfectly aligned. “ _More Matching requests from the London Center_.”

_“Politely decline them, governess,”_ Hakuba said as he shucked his coat and handed it over to her.

She frowned. _“But, sir, the law states-!”_

_“That when summoned, I must appear within reasonable time to ascertain if I am a match for the selected Sentinel,”_ Hakuba finished as he took off his shoes. _“Unless, of course, I am already in the middle of a Matching.”_

The woman seemed to notice Heiji at that moment. Her eyes traced him critically before she straightened her shoulders and tucked the letters under her arm. “Very well, Bocchama. I will send them a letter stating your current status. Do you have the paperwork?”

Heiji blinked at the sudden change to Japanese. Like, yes, he hated being left out, but this was Hakuba’s home. It’s not like he had to talk so Heiji can understand. Besides, Heiji knew English just fine. It was just… they spoke faster than he was used to, okay?

“The forms are being filed as we speak,” Hakuba said as he turned to Heiji, pair of guest slippers in hand. “I can take your coat for you.”

Grunting as affirmative, Heiji slid out of his letterman jacket and shoes and handed the first off to Hakuba. Hakuba immediately turned to the woman with his coat. Go figure.

“You can leave your shoes there,” Hakuba waved as he started up the winged stairs. “I’ll show you where you can sleep tonight.”

Tonight? As in only tonight? Heiji scowled.

Following him up the stairs, Heiji watched as they passed a study, a bathroom, another study, a towel closet, _another_ study (so many books!) and what looked like a spare bedroom or two before they stopped in front of a closed set of doors.

“Since this was short notice, I didn’t have time to tell Baya to make up any of our guest rooms,” Hakuba said as he opened the door. Books on the nightstand, ties on a rack, bedsheets slightly rumpled; this room looked far more lived in. “I hope you don’t mind staying here tonight.”

Heiji inhaled to speak, but sputtered when he got an overwhelming lungful of _Hakuba_. “Wait a minute, this is _your_ room?! You want to _sleep_ together?!”

“Well, no.” Hakuba shot him a confused look. “I was going to sleep on the couch in the study.”

The thought of kicking a Guide out of their own bed rubbed Heiji wrong. “It’s fine. I’ll take the couch. You keep your bed.”

“But you are injured.” Hakuba frowned at him. “You should take the bed.”

“ _Injured_ , not _dying_.” Heiji rolled his eyes and turned to find one of those studies he’d passed. “I’m taking the couch.”

Hakuba put an arm out to physically stop him. “The bed, I insist.”

Heiji glared. Hakuba glared back.

_Oh shit_. Heiji’s mind ground to a halt. “We’re in a stalemate.”

Hakuba’s features twisted in confusion, realization and finally embarrassment. “We’re going to be stuck here all night, aren’t we?”

Heiji groaned and ran a hand over his face. Taking a deep breath, he put his famous mind to work. “Okay, compromise.”

Hakuba lifted an eyebrow. “I’m listening?”

“I take the right side, you take the left.” Heiji pointed to the bed. “That way, neither of us are on the couch and our Instincts stop screwing with us.”

Hakuba stared for long enough for Heiji to get twitchy, before he said. “Deal.”

Even though he’d been the one to suggest it, Heiji was already starting to regret it. Too late now, it was a plan both of them could deal with. “Good. Now, where’s your bathroom?”

“Which one?”

“The one with a bathtub in it. I smell like three-day-old laundry.”

“...Which one with a tub? I have three.”

“Aghflubgrrrr!”

*             *             *             *             *

Heiji laid on one half of the bed, stiff as a board. Yes, there was more than enough space for two people –enough space for a third between them even! There was nothing to fear from sleeping in the same bed as the other male.

Except Heiji had never shared a bed before. Ever. The thought of another person in his space while he was vulnerable did not sit well with him. Guide or not, it rubbed against his Sentinel Instincts.

There was also the whole fear that Hakuba would read his mind in his sleep, but, eh, details.

“I’m going to turn off the lights,” Hakuba said from the doorway.

Heiji turned his head, an affirmative on his lips, but ended up choking instead. “What are you _wearing_?!”

Hakuba looked down at his attire. “My night clothes?”

“That’s a _dress_!” Heiji spat out. “You’re wearing a _dress_!”

Hakuba’s face turned red as he vehemently denied it. “It’s a _nightshirt_ , idiot! Not a dress!”

“I’m sorry, do you have _pants_ on underneath?”

“Well, I kind of-!”

“No? I heard a no. And I would know too! That thing is too short to hide pants!”

“It goes to my _knees_!” Hakuba protested.

“You ain’t denying the pants thing!” Heiji argued.

Hakuba buried his face in his hands, sucked in a deep breath and held it. After a count to ten, he let it out explosively. “You may call it whatever you wish, but I have worn nightshirts since I was a child –as did my father, and his father before him. It is not a dress and is appropriate sleeping attire.”

“According to what country?” Heiji sniped.

“According to the Western Continents,” Hakuba replied with a stale look. “As well as Australia.”

Heiji opened his mouth to continue arguing, but had no further comments.

“If you have nothing you wish to add, can we please go to bed now? I’ve had a very long weekend and school is bound to be just as taxing tomorrow.” Hakuba rubbed at his temples like he had a headache coming on. Heiji’s Sentinel Instincts bristled at the thought of his – _a_ Guide in pain. It rubbed him the wrong way.

“You stay on your side,” Heiji said in lieu of agreement. He turned to burrow back under the covers, this time on his side facing the door. His Gui – _Hakuba_ was on the side closest to the windows, but Heiji was banking on no one being dumb enough to scale the two story house to try to break in.

He knew, intellectually, that no one was going to break into the highly secured house without setting off the alarms and alerting them to breaking and entering, but his Sentinel Instincts didn’t like being in a new place. He liked having his –a Guide in an unknown place even less.

Hakuba grumbled as he turned off the lights. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Then it was dark.

Heiji blinked rapidly, his eyes accustoming themselves to the darkness at a rate roughly ten times that of an average human. He watched silently as Hakuba paused at the door, his own eyes adjusting, before he moved towards the bed. Heiji kept his eyes on the door as the Guide rounded the four-poster and even as he felt the mattress shift as the other crawled in.

There was at least two feet between them, but Heiji could still feel the heat from the other. He felt every twitch and shuffle as Hakuba got comfortable and, against his wishes, felt his hearing dial up to hone in on the other’s heartbeat. He made a face at the loud noise and pressed his ears firmly against the pillows. He had no _idea_ how he was going to sleep tonight.

“I can hear your thoughts from here,” Hakuba said from the other side of the bed. His voice was startlingly loud.

_Can he really?_ Heiji wondered.

“Just calm down,” Hakuba said instead of answering his unspoken question. “You’re too tense. Try relaxing your muscles one-by-one starting from your toes. I’ve been told it’s a great technique to get people to sleep.”

“Been told?” Heiji snorted. “What? Didn’t work for you?”

“Normally, I read for about an hour before bed,” Hakuba replied, a bit annoyed. “But I figured you wouldn’t like the light on at this time of night.”

Heiji frowned to himself and drew the covered up over his head. “‘S your house. Do what y’want.”

Heiji silently hoped the blonde would take his words as permission. After a few quiet moments and a brief brush of _something_ against Heiji’s mind, a small lamp came on at the other side of the bed. The mattress shifted and the flutter of pages sounded in the quiet room.

Heiji slowly felt his muscles relax as Hakuba got comfortable and absorbed himself in his book. The air shifted, feeling of contentment instead of annoyance, much to Heiji’s relief. The covers didn’t quite block out the light from the single dim lamp, but Heiji couldn’t bring himself to complain. If reading before bed made the Guide happy, then Heiji was content to let him read.

Before he knew it, he found himself drifting off to sleep to the quiet sound of pages flipping. The heartbeat that had echoed in his ears sounded softer, a rhythmic lulling that dragged on his consciousness. Awareness sparked only when the lamp clicked off and the mattress shifted again, before he settled entirely into sleep.

When he woke, Heiji felt more refreshed than he had in what felt like years. His muscles were lax and well-rested, his mind sharper than it’d ever been after a nap. Man, if this is how he woke up every day, he could get used to this.

Then he noticed his position… and blushed clear to his roots.

Sometime in the night, he’d flailed about on the bed like he always did, hands reached for something else. Usually, he’d latch onto a pillow or the balled up mess of his sheets, but this time, his hands had found _Hakuba_. His arm had flung itself over the blonde’s waist and their legs found themselves entangled.

To make matters worse, Heiji felt a grip on his wrist, keeping him from pulling back. Strangely enough, Hakuba didn’t seem to be making a big deal about it. Was he…?

Pushing up onto his other arm, Heiji craned his neck to see the blonde’s face. Pale lashes fluttered as Hakuba continued to sleep, lips parted ever so slightly. The hand connected to Heiji’s looked like he’d attempted to push Heiji off in the middle of the night, but had fallen back asleep half-way through. It was… kind of adorable.

Heiji blanched at the thought and shook his head. No way was Hakuba adorable! The guy was taller than him (only by a few inches dammit!) and was smug as _hell_! No way someone like _that_ could _ever_ be qualified as _cute_!

Kazuha was cuter. Definitely.

A blaring alarm startled Heiji out of his musings and set his heart racing. The grip on his arm tightened as Hakuba groaned and Heiji panicked. What would the Guide think when he woke up and found Heiji draped all over him? He was the one that had wanted to bond without sex! Would he think that Heiji was trying to force him?

Heiji tested the strength of the grip on his arm again, but to no avail. Instead, it just brought attention to himself.

Gold eyes dragged themselves open to pin Heiji in place with a piercing glare. Heiji swallowed thickly as they continued to stare at one another. Finally, that molten gaze drew away to the alarm clock, still… alarming. Pale fingers reached out to click the snooze button before fumbling with the switch on the side.

The grip on his hand still hadn’t let up.

“Um…” Heiji flinched back when that glare fell back onto him. “Hakuba… I can explain?”

The blonde stared at him for several seconds before finally saying. “Coffee.”

Heiji’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”

“Mm…” Hakuba groaned as he got to his feet and wandered unsteadily out of the room.

Heiji watched him go and then sat for a few moments, collecting himself. He let out a surprised laugh. “He’s as bad as Kudou!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that wraps up this week's chapter! :)
> 
> Please note, the Hakuba wearing nightshirts is just a head cannon, not a real thing. I just wanted to break up some of Heiji's tension in the scene and figured that would be a nice way to build character at the same time, since not much is known about Hakuba thus far. 
> 
> Anyway, see you here again next week!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the events in this fic.
> 
> PS - So, just curious, did anyone else know that Tsubasa Chronicles has a 2nd series? I'm getting some ideas, people. ;)

Heiji passed a critical eye over the new class of people. After moving in with Hakuba, it stood to reason that Heiji would transfer to the other’s school as well. After all, Sentinels and Guides undergoing a match were supposed to remain as physically close as possible. For level 3 or lower, this meant in the same relative city.

For Heiji, this meant within 100 feet of Hakuba.

He’s just glad that this school had gakurans too, so despite his uniform’s color, he didn’t stand out too much. His darker skin tone and Osakan accent did that enough.

“Class, this is our new transfer student,” the teacher said to his right. “Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?”

“Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West,” he said plainly, the whispers already starting before he’d finished his introduction. “Nice t’meet’cha.”

“That accent, is he from Osaka?”

“Accent? Check out that skin tone! He doesn’t even look like he belongs here.”

“Detective? Like Hakuba-san?”

“Better than Hakuba-san! He’s got a _title_!”

“-the West? Does that mean there’s a Detective of the East?”

“Dude! You haven’t heard of Kudou Shinichi?!”

“All right class!” the teacher called out. “That’s enough. Hattori-kun will be with us for the foreseeable future due to his family situation. Please be nice to him and help him out in his new environment.”

_New environment_ , Heiji scoffed. He’d memorized the map of the school in under five minutes and the streets of Ekoda in under 15. Now, if someone wanted to point him to a great place for Takoyaki, _that’d_ be helpful.

“Since your last name is Hattori, why don’t you take the seat next to Hakuba-kun?” the teacher suggested.

_Smooth_ ~, Heiji thought. She knew of his status as a 5-S and Hakuba’s rank of A-G. Even without the current status of their Match, he wouldn’t put it past her to place him in the exact same seat. It was simple strategy.

After the awkward introduction, class continued on the same as before. Heiji found that his school was ahead in history and English studies, but behind in Math in terms of curriculum. It meant nothing to him since he always read ahead to leave room for mysteries and murders. He’d be on track in no time.

All through the classes, Heiji made sure to keep one eye on the board and the other on his – _Hakuba_. The blonde Guide seemed to want to say something, but didn’t want to interrupt class to do so. The result was an itching feeling of eyes on him that annoyed Heiji through the morning classes.

He wondered, briefly, if Hakuba had remembered their position that morning and wanted to pick a fight because of it, or if it was something else. He soon got his answer.

At lunch, Hakuba turned to him, eyes sharp. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Oh?” Heiji cocked his head to the side, “Who’s that?”

“Kaitou KID.” His answer drew Heiji up short. What?

“Oi, oi! I’ve told you before!” a new voice broke into their conversation. “I’m not KID!”

Heiji looked at the stranger and nearly choked. “Ku- _Kudou_?!”

“Eh?” Kudou tilted his head to the side, eyes wide with innocent curiosity. “Who?”

At the question, Heiji took a second look and, no, it wasn’t Kudou. Kudou would never go out with his hair all a mess and his uniform only semi-presentable (fashionably messy, his mind said). Moreover, the eyes weren’t the right shade of blue and his face looked more rounded where Kudou’s was thin.

Most importantly, this person didn’t feel like a Sentinel. No… he felt like a Guide, something Kudou definitely was _not_.

“O-oh! My bad!” Heiji laughed nervously. “You just looked like a friend of mine. Sorry about that!”

“It’s okay. I get that a lot.” The stranger grinned and offered a hand. “Kuroba Kaito.”

“Kaitou KID,” Hakuba corrected.

The stranger, Kuroba, sighed dramatically and dropped Heiji’s hand so that he could gesture grandly. “I’ve told you before, Haku-teme! I’m _not_ Kaitou KID!”

“Several facts beg to differ,” Hakuba said, drawing a small booklet from his pocket. “Not counting the physical similarities such as height and build that could possibly be faked, you two also share a number of personality traits and skills that no one else in Ekoda could claim. Flamboyant grand-standing, inability to ice skate, _sleight of hand_ -!”

“And yet, I know _several people_ that have all of those things in common.” Kuroba crossed his arms. “Besides, it’s statistically improbable that _no one_ has those traits with a district as large as Ekoda.”

“On their own, yes, but _together_ -!”

“Ugh, round and round we go –Hattori-kun!” Heiji startled when he was suddenly pulled back into the conversation –literally. Kuroba’s hand grasped at his with a little too much friendliness. “You believe me right? There’s no support to this guy’s claims, even probabilities say so!”

“I think you’ll find that Hattori-kun” –Hakuba crossed his arms with a smug grin- “agrees with me.”

Oh, this is what they were playing at?

Heiji got up from his desk, nice and slow. The students surrounding them noticed the action and turned to watch. They were used to Kuroba and Hakuba going at it, but the new detective would surely make the show more interesting.

Standing now, Heiji tucked one hand in his armpit and rested his other elbow on his forearm. His forefinger tapped at his lips as he gave Kuroba a calculating look. He let his eyes wander, taking in the other’s build – _fit, lean, most likely flexible, but that would have to be put to a test_ –and then trailed back up to the other’s eyes.

Those eyes held nothing for him.

The saying ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’ is a very true statement. People speak far more with the way they look and stare and observe the world, than the way they interact with it. Most times, Heiji could tell the criminal just by the look in their eyes –hungry for blood, or hang-dog guilty.

With Kuroba, he got none of that. They were empty –carefully, _purposefully_ so.

Heiji did a slow circle around the teen, still making it look as if he were assessing the teens’ arguments, but he already knew the answer he’d give. Making it back to his spot, Heiji took one last measure –got up real nice and close to Kuroba, right up in his personal space. It was close enough that he could stare into those not-Kudou-blue eyes and just _look_ long enough to make the Guide flash a nervous little flare before it, too, was swallowed up.

Then Heiji shifted back on his heels.

“I don’t see it,” Heiji deadpanned. Inches away, Kuroba’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?!” Hakuba leapt from his desk. “What did you say?!”

“I don’t see it,” Heiji said again, leaning back to put his hands behind his head. He rested his head back as he walked towards the door to the classroom. “KID bein’ a high school student and conveniently in the same class as you? Where he could listen in on any plans you had? And in the same classroom as Nakamori-keibu’s daughter where she could potentially spill the beans? Nah, too clean.”

“There’s nothing convenient about-!”

“Hey, listen to your friend, Haku-teme! _He_ doesn’t accuse me of being a criminal!”

“A _rightful_ accusation-!”

Heiji closed the classroom door behind him and took a steadying breath. His instincts warred with him, wanted to divulge his own suspicions with his Guide, but at the same time wanting to protect the other Guide and his own Sentinel friend by extension. It didn’t help that the other Guide was hostile to his own or that Kudou was slowly breaking down like Heiji had, but he could deal.

It was okay for now.

As long as it was just teasing and keep-away, as long as Kudou’s condition didn’t suddenly worsen, Heiji could keep this strange balance his Instincts forced onto him.

It was okay for now.

His heart sped up a little at a cry of frustration from his Guide. It was angry, yes, but not pained or fearful, so he could ignore it.

Taking out his phone, Heiji wandered to a set of windows in the hallway in order to get better reception. Scrolling through his contacts, he selected a familiar number and waited through the rings. At an answer, he beamed out the window. “Kudou!”

_“... Hattori, why are you calling me?”_

“I was just checking in on you!” Heiji leaned against the windowsill. “Friends do that. I’m surprised you haven’t checked in on me. I started at a new school today, yanno.”

_“It’s lunch time. Nothing has happened yet.”_

“How do you know that?” Heiji frowned into the phone.

_“You’re calling me, which means you’re bored and looking for some entertainment –which means it hasn’t found you yet.”_

Heiji snorted. “Well, you’re half right. I am bored. School isn’t any better in Tokyo, huh?”

_“I’m surprised you thought it would be.”_

“Trust me, I won’t make that mistake again.” Heiji rolled his eyes before resting his elbow in his other hand. Down the hall, a door slid open, then shut. “But something did happen. I think I met your… ‘possible’.”

_“... How are you sure? I didn’t give you a name or description.”_

“Hakuba’s got some suspicions of his own about a classmate of his,” Heiji revealed. “Some of the similarities… well, he’s got a good case set up.”

_“Oh?”_

“I can’t tell you anymore without askin’ confirmation.” Heiji’s grip tightened on his phone. “And I can’t ask you that.”

_“... I won’t ask you to keep secrets from your Guide, Hattori. So I won’t put you in the position to do so. If he is right, though, and he gets confirmation from anything between us after you bond… please allow me to speak with him before he does anything drastic.”_

“Understood,” Heiji replied, though he felt like he already had his answer. “So, got anything else on the agenda? Anything ‘fun’?”

_“... I’m hanging up now.”_

“Aw, Kudou!” Heiji whined, but was met with the dial tone.

“Who were you talking to?” Kuroba asked, appearing out of nowhere.

“Ah, just a friend of mine,” Heiji answered, putting his phone in his back pocket. “He wanted me to call to make sure I was adjusting well.”

Kuroba cocked his head to the side. “It didn’t sound like he cared. Didn’t he hang up on you?”

“Eh, that’s just how Kudou is.” Heiji waved off the occurrence. It was partly his fault for messing with the other teen anyway. “He’s kind of prickly.”

“Kudou?” Kuroba’s eyes lit up as a smile tugged at his lips. Heiji paused for a moment, trying to assess whether Kuroba was _actually_ interested or if he was just playing the part. To his dismay, he couldn’t tell the difference. “As in Kudou Shinichi, Detective of the East?”

“Un,” Heiji grunted an affirmative.

“Hasn’t he, like, disappeared for the past few months?” Kuroba asked as his brow furrowed. “I thought no one had heard from him.”

“Well, aren’t _you_ informed?” Heiji asked smugly. “Kudou’s just got a big case going on. It’s taken all of his time up. You know the saying: between eating, sleeping, and detective work, you can only choose one.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s _not_ how that goes.”

“It’s not?” Heiji made a show of looking surprised. “I thought for _sure_ that’s how it went.”

Kuroba stared at him for several seconds before something started to _dig_ into Heiji’s mind. With an Instinctual flare of anger and fear, Heiji threw up his shields, sharp as a sword, solid as stone and watched the look on Kuroba’s face morph into surprise and shame –shame at getting caught, not at the act itself.

“How about,” –Heiji crossed his arms- “instead of rooting around in my head, y’ask the question you want to know the answer to?”

“How did you…?”

“You Guides may have more finesse with the mind tricks, but Sentinels aren’t push-overs, yanno,” Heiji said through his teeth. “We were made to give you Guides a safe haven. We can just as easily keep you out.”

Kuroba’s frown turned fierce, his eyes dark. Heiji had the sudden realization that this was one of the many _true_ faces of Kuroba Kaito. “I’ve never had a problem before.”

“Probably because you’ve only tried with Kudou.” Heiji raised an eyebrow. “An’ Kudou kind of sucks at being a Sentinel right now.”

Kuroba fell quiet again, chewing on Heiji’s words, looking for the answer he needed, no doubt. Heiji would make him work for it. Finally, the Guide gave in and asked ‘nicely’ –if demanding through his teeth could be considered ‘nice’. “How much do you know?”

“More than you’d like,” Heiji answered cryptically, “but less than you think.”

Kuroba dropped from silent anger to timid confusion.

“Kudou told me that KID helped him out when he needed it,” Heiji offered as objectively as he could. “He said there’s a possibility for a Bond, but he didn’t tell me where they met or who KID was. Hakuba gave a lot of good facts –ones I would tend to agree with, if presented with evidence.”

“But you didn’t,” Kuroba pointed out.

“I am not looking for KID,” Heiji replied. “I am here to Match with a Guide. If it works out, we will Bond and everything _I_ know, _he_ will know. It would put Kudou’s potential Guide into danger, which goes against my Instincts as a Sentinel, and those I hold for my friend. But if I don’t Bond, I’ll have to stay at the Center until the day I do and, honestly? I’d rather not do that.”

Kuroba fell quiet again, his eyes scanning Heiji as if he could see deception. With that kind of control over his emotions, perhaps he could? Heiji certainly couldn’t make anything out of that Poker Face of his. Even what Heiji thought he saw, might be an act.

Suddenly, Kuroba brightened again and laughed, as if the last few minutes had never happened. “You’re so funny, Hat-chan!”

“Haaa?” Heiji gave him a confused look that only lasted long enough for Hakuba to poke his head out the door. Ah, problem solved. It was an act. But how did he know…?

“There you two are!” Hakuba sighed in exasperation. “We’re about to start class again. Hattori, did you eat anything?”

“Ah! No!” Heiji grabbed at his stomach as it suddenly complained to him. “I didn’t!”

Hakuba sighed again. “I have a bread roll in my bag. You have three minutes.”

Heiji rushed into class, focused on the few minutes he had left to eat. As he passed, he saw Kuroba wink from the corner of his eye, but brushed it off. Who knew what that boy was thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First interaction with Hattori and KID (in my fic. ;) ) And more to come, I'm sure.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Magic Kaito or Detective Conan, only the events in this fic.
> 
> PS - more HakuHei, but don't worry! We'll be getting some KaiShin next chapter! :) Finally, right?

Where Kudou was concerned, Heiji held out for two days.

The first day, the fencing club met after school in the gym. As lead fencer of the club, Hakuba had to be there the entire time, giving advice, correcting stances, and garnering admiring looks. Heiji, given the range of his Match Zone, couldn’t leave the school without Hakuba in tow.

And, well, why not watch people beat on each other with swords while he waited? He could at least learn a few things about Hakuba’s style for when they fought against each other.

He… was not expecting this.

Fencing and Kendo were different; there was no other word for it. From the swords they used to the armor they donned to the very way they set their feet, the two sword techniques couldn’t be any different.

Fencing focused on agility and strategy. Their armor was thin; their swords thinner. With real steel, they would be looking to poke holes in vital organs –clean and precise –while avoiding damage to their own.

Kendo focused on speed and strength. Their swords, while light bamboo for practice, posed far greater damage over a larger area, hence the thick, padded armor of Heiji’s own team. Their goal was to cut deep and long –enough to dismember if given the chance –and they expected the same from their opponent.

One would expect a physically fit Kendo fighter to win outright against a nimble Fencer, but Heiji wasn’t so sure. The thicker armor would prevent fatal blows, yes, but they weren’t fighting to kill. Points would be added based on whether they touched or not and, if so, who did so first. In that regard, Heiji’s weighty padding would be detrimental to him.

At the same time, a Fencer could become overwhelmed by strength alone and would, presumably, know this. In that case, Hakuba would do his best to keep Heiji at arm’s length or further until Heiji tired and started making mistakes. It would only be a matter of time before he made one big enough to cost him the match.

Heiji knew the goal was not to win between them, only to Bond, but that didn’t stop him from _wanting_ to. He’d always been far too competitive for his own good.

With this in mind, he watched Hakuba through his duels, searching for weak points and planning. The next day, Ekoda High’s Kendo club met. Heiji recognized the Captain as one of the few to fight Heiji to a draw in the previous competition. To say that the Kendo fighter was surprised to see a former rival in his club would be an understatement.

“You finally get tired of living out in the country?” Hanaka Torizu laughed when Heiji formally introduced himself.

“As if! Osaka ain’t in the ‘country’ anymore than Tokyo.” Heiji scowled. “Nah, I’m temporarily here.”

“For family reasons, right?” Hanaka finished, hands on his hips. “Is it something serious?”

“Not really. Just going through some stuff.” Heiji brushed him off. “Hope you don’t mind me crashin’ on your practices though.”

“Not at all!” Hanaka beamed. “You might even be able to help some of the others here. If you have any questions, let me know, okay?”

“Ah, well, I do have one.” Heiji canted his hip to the side so he could look back at where Hakuba sat against the doorframe, reading. “How would one go about beating a Fencer in a duel?”

Hanaka’s grin turned feral.

*             *             *             *             *

So it was after laying down his new training regimen and talking around Hakuba’s questions that Heiji finally gave in and gave Kudou a call.

_“I don’t have anything for you,”_ the brat said in lieu of a greeting.

“Oi! You don’t know why I was calling!” Heiji protested. A long, pressured silence followed. “Okay, maybe you do. Come on. You gotta have something going on!”

_“Hattori, I really don’t. And even if I did…”_

Heiji frowned into the phone, hearing the intent behind his friend’s words, but not understanding. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with Nee-chan? Little Nee-chan? … _Them_?”

_“No, it’s just…”_ Conan made a frustrated noise, then spoke so quietly that Heiji had to strain to hear. _“It’s Hakuba, okay? I’m… scared that he’ll go poking around in my head and… and see something or find out about you-know-who and I just-!”_

Ah.

Heiji hadn’t thought of that. He crossed his arms and leaned his hip against a sturdy desk (the one in the fifth, _fifth_ , study). “But he wouldn’t have a reason to suspect you of anything, right? You’re just some normal kid to him.”

_“I was… until the not-quite-a-heist last week.”_ Kudou sighed _. “When I saw him there and… had the potential of seeing KID, I... may have panicked and basically asked Kaitou KID to hide me from Hakuba.”_

“You-!?” Heiji choked. What was _wrong_ with this guy? A Guide sensing a shield around some random kid was _bound_ to make him notice!

_“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it backfired,”_ Kudou said grumpily _. “He kept giving me funny looks all night, or at least until Toyama-san ran in and distracted him.”_

Heiji ran a hand down the front of his face.

_“So if we were to meet up, I’m sure he’d start digging around in my head and since he’s a Guide, I can’t exactly do anything about it.”_

“Yer wrong,” Heiji deadpanned with a sigh. At a questioning noise from Kudou, he continued. “You’re a Sentinel —a 5-S at that. If you wanted to, you could keep any Guide out of your head.”

_“... How?”_

“It’s part of being a Sentinel,” Heiji explained. “It wouldn’t make sense for Guides to bond with us if they didn’t get something out of the deal. In exchange for keeping our senses straight, Guides get a reprieve of sorts. For those with constant psychic abilities –telepathy for instance –they can suddenly find themselves cut off from the world. It’s disorienting, yeah, but at the same time, it’s the first piece of quiet they get since coming Online.”

_“... So we have something of a mental shield?”_

“That about sums it up, though it’s only a shield for our own minds,” Heiji elaborated. “It can be used to help Guides in need, but it can also be used to keep them out. However, if you use a shield around Hakuba…”

_“...I give up the pretense of being a Neutral and then have to deal with being a ‘Sentinel Child’ in his presence —as well as the very real possibility that I drop into a Zone from my own repressed senses.”_

“Yeah.” Heiji bit at the corner of his lip in thought.

After a short while, Kudou came back with a question. _“Can I only shield a part of my mind?”_

“Huh?”

_“A part of it. You said that being a 5-S, I could completely shield my mind from a Guide. What if I was only a 1-S?”_

“That…” That might work. With Senes-4, Kudou could unleash one of his senses in exchange for having a consciousness of Hakuba’s digging and a small but stable shield around certain memories or facts. “That could work, but you’d have to make the area you want to shield very, very small.”

“ _Pft, no problem. It’s not like I know much about the Black Organization anyway_.” The words, while flippant, sounded far more bitter than any six-year-old had the right to sound.

“That’s the spirit!” Heiji said instead of dwelling on their miniscule progress. “You’ll also have to practice making the shield in-between now and when I come to see you.”

“ _Shouldn’t be too hard_ ,” Kudou said confidently. “ _When are you coming to see me?”_

“Tomorrow,” Heiji said without preamble.

Silence.

_“HATTORI!”_

_“Oh, Conan-kun? Is that Hattori-kun on the phone?”_

_“Ah, ah! Y-yeah! He’s telling me about a case he’s been working on.”_

_“A case? So soon after getting out of the Center?”_

_“Y-you know how detectives are.”_

_“Hmm…”_

Heiji smirked as he listened in. “Okay, Conan-kun! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

_“Hattori, don’t you dare-!”_

Heiji hung up with a grin. Hah! How did that feel, Kudou?

…

Perhaps he should have given the kid more information on how to make shields… Heiji was beginning to think that may have been helpful for Kudou to know, but… Meh, he could always look up a how-to guide on the internet. That’s what Hattori did.

“Who was that?” Hakuba asked from the doorway to the balcony. Heiji had retreated there after dinner in order to get some privacy for his call. He was still within his Match Zone, but Hakuba couldn’t overhear every word he said. Heiji thought the other would understand his need and leave him in peace.

Apparently, this wasn’t the case.

“Just a friend of mine, checking in on me,” Heiji answered. He locked his phone and shoved it into his back pocket before turning to face Hakuba. Resting a hip on the railing, he crossed his arms. “Problem with that?”

Hakuba frowned at him, eyes searching before deciding. “You’re lying.”

Heiji eyebrows climbed up his forehead. Wow, talk about accusing someone.

Before he could retort about Hakuba’s own eavesdropping ways, Heiji felt a painful dig at his own psyche. It was so invasive and unrelenting that Heiji didn’t think twice before throwing up his guard. Had he a physical sword, he might have held Hakuba at blade point by sheer instinct alone.

By the look on Hakuba’s face, he might as well have.

“Oi,” Heiji growled. “Yanno, there’s this nice thing called _asking_ that you Guides seem to forget about when it’s convenient for you. A man’s mind is a private place!”

“You-! A shield-? But-! _How_?” Hakuba sputtered, eyes wide with shock.

“Honestly! It’s like you Guides don’t realize what Sentinels are!” Heiji ran a hand through his hair. “We aren’t just some toys for you to play with. We have a purpose just like you do. We are your compliment in every way! Instead, you just treat us like some burden and dig around in our heads like we don’t _know that you’re doing it_!”

“But you-!” Hakuba started, but Heiji cut him on, his anger on a roll now.

“You think that, just because you’re a Guide, you can go digging through people’s heads? Like you’re entitled to it or something?” Heiji snapped, his Rage burning just under his skin. “ _Newsflash_ : That’s _illegal_ in all first and second-world countries! It falls under the same jurisdiction as illegally gotten evidence! You, _of all people_ , should know this, Mr. Superintendant General’s son!”

“I… I’m sorry…” Hakuba grasped at his sides, some physical defense against Heiji’s verbal attack. And that’s what it was, an _attack_.

The thought made Heiji’s Instincts roil against him and brought him up short. Pressing a hand to his forehead, Heiji breathed deeply, slowly letting the fire burning beneath his skin die out. It wasn’t easy. His hearing was blasted through the roof and his nose was picking up some rank stuff from the mansion next door, but both senses slowly dialed back down as he regained control of himself.

When he felt like his anger was contained, Heiji looked up at Hakuba.

The blonde looked truly sorry for what he’d done, but also a little bewildered, like he wasn’t sure of the boundaries of his trespass.

Heiji would have to make it clear.

“Hakuba, I’m going to be frank with you,” Heiji said. “I want to like you.”

Hakuba looked up from his feet.

“I want to believe in this Bond and believe that we can have a chance with this… whatever it is we’re going to do.” Heiji stared at the other teen, hard. “But if I can’t trust you to respect my privacy _now_ , how will I be able to trust you at all when it comes time for us to Bond?”

Pale lips parted to speak, but no words came. Instead, one tucked itself under white teeth.

“When we Bond, _if_ we Bond, my thoughts will be your thoughts and yours, mine. We won’t be able to hide anything from each other if the other really wants to know.” Heiji pushed away from the railing to brush against the blonde as he passed. “But until then, my mind is my own. Stay out of it.”

“... I understand.” The voice was quiet, causing Heiji to dial his hearing up instinctively to catch the soft tones. It didn’t make him feel any better.

The two got ready for bed in complete silence. The entire time, Heiji was kicking himself for potentially ruining this thing between Hakuba and him. It wasn’t really unnatural for a potential Match to want to look through a Sentinel’s head. Just like a Sentinel had to feel safe with a Guide, so too did the Guide need to feel safe with the Sentinel.

After Heiji’s outburst, he probably blew all chances out of the water.

As he was wondering how long it would take to find a new Guide at the Center, Hakuba spoke. “Earlier…when you were talking about invasion of privacy...”

Heiji paused where he was climbing under the covers of Hakuba’s bed. He looked at Hakuba, then finished crawling into his side of the bed. “Mmm?”

“You said ‘you Guides’, implying that this happened more than once,” Hakuba said slowly, as if to keep from making Heiji angry. Though, he grew more confident with each word of his deduction. “Your particular aggressiveness showed that you were sensitive to the matter in either of two ways: being a consistent target of such attacks, or being the target of one only recently.”

Heiji shot him a look to tell him to _get on with it already_.

“Given that Toyama-san seems like one who would both defend you and respect your privacy, I have to believe that it was the latter.” Hakuba’s eyes flicked over to him, full of curiosity and interest, but polite distance. “Who was the other Guide that attempted to attack you? They must have been someone from our school…”

Heiji felt his stomach turn, but instead of showing it, he scoffed and rolled over onto his side. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

There was a quiet lull before Hakuba sighed and opened his book back to the place he’d marked. Though his eyes were closed, Heiji was far from asleep.

His entire body felt electrified, like it was on a hair-trigger. He could feel the way Hakuba wanted to _know_ , wanted to _press_ and _dig_ and _find_. He knew that it was a very real possibility for the Guide to sneak into his mind while he slept, to find all of the things Heiji was hiding from him, all of the things that he _should not find_. With Heiji asleep, it would be all too easy…

So Heiji didn’t sleep.

He didn’t sleep while Hakuba read his book. He didn’t sleep when Hakuba turned off the light. He didn’t sleep when Hakuba got comfortable on his side of the bed. He only started to relax when he heard the soft breathing even out and felt the other’s body fall limp.

Now that Hakuba was asleep, Heiji could sleep as well.

(He didn’t give a single thought to sleeping in a different room. He hadn’t thought of that since the first night. He also didn’t think of it in the morning when, to his annoyance, he found _himself_ caught in Hakuba’s sneaky sleep-attack like Hakuba had been caught in his the past few mornings. The thought just never came.)

*             *             *             *             *

Kaito looked up at the excited yammering of the new student, Hattori Heiji. From what Kaito could tell, he was a fairly intelligent individual on par with Hakuba and Tantei-kun. He was a Sentinel, true, but one that was currently Matched with Hakuba and on their way to being Bonded. The only thing standing in their way was Hattori’s hand injury.

Kaito wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

On the one hand, Hattori had a source of evidence to KID’s identity in the form of Tantei-kun. With Hakuba bonding with him soon, that source would also be available to _Hakuba_. On the other hand, Hattori seemed to be an ally, though reluctantly. It appeared that Tantei-kun had more say in the other’s actions than Kaito first thought. He might be able to keep Hakuba at bay even after their Bond.

It wouldn’t stop Hakuba from digging into Tantei-kun’s head though. Especially when…

“Come on, come on!” Hattori fidgeted at Hakuba’s desk as the blonde slowly gathered up his things. “Conan’s school lets out soon! I want to catch him before dinner!”

“Why are you so obsessed with this child?” Hakuba asked, finally closing his bag and latching it. “Yes, he is quite intelligent for his age, but he is still just a child.”

“Reasons,” Hattori grumbled. When Hakuba didn’t look amused, he followed with, “I’m his detective sensei. Now that I live closer, I can teach him all sorts of things!”

_Yeah, right. Like Tantei-kun needs to learn more_. Kaito laughed internally.

“I think Conan-kun will be fine on his own,” Hakuba said as he stood. “He was fine while you were in Osaka, right? I’m sure you being closer won’t mean a thing to him.”

The two had a tense stare down before Hattori crossed his arms behind his head. “Fine, you don’t have to go.” Before Hakuba could look relieved, Hattori continued. “I’ll just go by myself.”

Seemed like as good a time as any to butt in.

“Go somewhere?” Kaito grinned brightly. “Sounds fun! Where are you going?”

Hattori gave him a long, suspicious look. Kaito just grinned, which made the expression on Hattori’s face change to something… _interested_. Oh, this detective was fun. “You heard of Edogawa Conan?”

“Oooh! You mean KID Killer?” Kaito rested his chin in his palm. “He’s the boy who was at the last KID heist, right Hakuba?”

“... Yes. He was,” Hakuba answered, looking a little put out. He didn’t know how to handle his two important people interacting —his future ally and his worst enemy slowly ganging up on him. Internally, Kaito smirked.

“Cute kid!” Kaito commented. “You going to see him?”

“Yeah,” Hattori confirmed. “His school lets out soon and it’s still a train ride away. Hakuba doesn’t want to go, though. Apparently, he has better things to do.”

“I’ll go with you.” Kaito offered. Hakuba looked down-right offended, but Hattori… he looked uneasy. Interesting.

“I mean, I won’t say no, but…” Hattori chewed the corner of his lip before continuing. “Well, when Conan and I meet up, we usually run into some… unplanned excitement…”

“Sounds fun!”

“... Of the homicidal nature,” Hattori finished. Hakuba perked up. Kaito paled. “And, I hate to say it, Kuroba, but you don’t look like the type to stomach our usual crime scenes.”

Kaito did _not_ want to go to a crime scene in the making, not a murderous one. No Siree!

“This happens every time?” Hakuba asked, eyes glinting.

“Without fail,” Hattori answered, a predatory grin on his lips.

“Interesting…” Hakuba slung his bag over his shoulder, face mirroring Hattori’s. “Perhaps I _will_ join you and Conan-kun for a play-date.”

And dig through Conan’s mind while he’s at it no doubt. Kaito groaned.

Looks like he’s running head first into a murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I just saw yesterday! LunaDarkside posted a new fic! :D I'm so excited!
> 
> For those of you who don't know, Luna is one of my favorite authors! They've got a whole bunch of awesome fics over on Fanfiction.net and some that have been copied over here. :) If you're looking for something to read this weekend, I definitely recommend them!
> 
> Anyway, excitement over. Have a good weekend! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Magic Kaito or Detective Conan, only the events in this fanfic.
> 
> PS - FINALLY! Some Kaishin action! :) I just voiced what everyone was thinking, didn't I? ;)

Conan scratched at his arms for the umpteenth time that day. He dragged nails over already irritated skin, further deepening the red marks littering his arms. If he scratched anymore, he was sure he’d accidentally break skin, but he couldn’t help it!

_Everything was so itchy!_

“Oi.” Haibara nudged him. “Did you mix up the medications again?”

“Not exactly,” he confided under his breath. “Hattori wanted to meet up today and wouldn’t exactly take ‘no’ for an answer. And where _he_ goes…”

“His Guide must follow,” Haibara finished for him. Conan grimaced. “That doesn’t explain your… issue.”

“Hattori told me that I could make a shield around some key thoughts if I had one of my senses unrestrained,” Conan explained as he dug at his lower back. Ugh, why did his shirt have to be so _itchy_? “So I figured it was a fair trade…”

“Right up until it’s your sense of Touch that’s affect.” Haibara crossed her arms. “You’re lucky that your Senes-5 lasted until 2. You can claim that you got into something at recess and that Hattori-kun didn’t notice until he brought you home. Mouri-san should buy that.”

“Un, probably.” Conan scratched at his ankle where his sock kept _rubbing, rubbing, rubbing_.

“...Will you be able to last that long?” Haibara asked, concern tinting her words.

“I’ll be fine.” Conan waved her off. “I just need to dissuade Hakuba’s suspicions and I’ll be in the clear.”

She scowled. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

The bell rang then, signaling the kids to collect their stuff. Conan was immediately surrounded by the Shounen Tantei-dan.

“Conan! Let’s go to the park today!” Ayumi suggested brightly.

“Yeah! We can play soccer!” Genta added, pulling a ball from his bag.

Conan smiled wanly at them, something Mitsuhiko noticed immediately. The boy frowned at Conan and crossed his arms. “You’re not going today, are you?”

“What?!” Ayumi whined, looking between the two of them. “Why not?!”

“You’re always skipping out on us!” Genta said, his cheerful demeanor fouling up.

“Hattori-nii-san wanted to meet up today,” Conan explained gently. He really did feel guilty, especially since he ran out on Haibara and the others the week before last. Since then, they hadn’t been able to do much with Mouri’s cases pulling Conan’s attention and keeping a watchful eye on Amuro in the cafe below the office. Fate just wasn’t on his side.

 A look in Haibara’s direction revealed he wouldn’t get any help there either.

“A penalty,” Haibara said, leaning against her desk.

“Huh?” Mitsuhiko looked over to her, confused.

“Since Edogawa-kun is running out on us so much, he should have to pay a penalty,” Haibara clarified.

“Good idea!” Genta agreed.

“But what would a good penalty be?” Mitsuhiko asked, looking over at Conan. He did _not_ like the look in the boy’s eyes. It reminded him too much of a certain prankster thief.

“Camping!” Ayumi gestured wildly with her hands. “This weekend! Let’s get the professor to go camping with us!”

… Camping? That didn’t sound so bad...

“Oh!” Genta gripped the air as if grasping hold of the idea. “And Conan-kun has to cook for us!”

“And clean the dishes afterwards!” Mitsuhiko chimed in, completely on board with the plan.

“And set up the tents,” Haibara added. Conan glared at her. She grinned back.

“Yeah!” Genta and Mitsuhiko cheered.

“Camping! Camping! Camping!” Ayumi sang as she skipped away. The boys followed her quickly, already discussing other punishments.

“Thanks a lot,” Conan growled, not thankful in the least.

“You’re welcome,” Haibara replied. “I got them off your back without any anger or tears. I deserved to be thanked.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

“I’ll give you a call when I get home tonight,” Conan promised. “Please explain to the professor so the kids aren’t disappointed.”

“Got it.” Haibara shrugged on her backpack and led the way to the door. “And don’t forget to pack your medication this weekend. Wouldn’t want to have to make _another_ excuse, neh?”

Conan grimaced, but agreed.

He walked her to the gates where they caught up with the rest of the Shounen Tantei-dan before he split off again. He checked his phone, noticing Hattori’s text that had arrived just as his school let out. It said that Hattori would be late, but to meet up at a family restaurant down on Tenth Street.

Sighing at the long walk, Conan got started, trying his best to ignore the way his clothes rubbed his skin raw. Ugh, he _hated this_. He would _never_ resort to using Senes-4 during the day again!

This was _torture_!

His fingers dug into the skin along his forearm and the base of his neck, trying to quell the itching fires where his shirt rubbed the worst. His waist was just as bad, jeans shifting with every step. His only saving grace was that his underwear _did not_ have the same effect as the rest of his clothes.

He wouldn’t have made it past homeroom otherwise.

So focused on soothing the itchy ache rippling across his skin, Conan didn’t realize he had arrived at the restaurant until Hattori called out to him. Seeing his friend further down the street, Conan slowed to a halt and lifted a hand to wave, then...

Conan felt a mind brush against his and immediately tensed.

He tried to think of a brick wall separating all thoughts of the Black Organization from his daily life like the videos had suggested, but it was hard. The wall felt like shale, frail and brittle, crumbling even as he grasped desperately at it.

No, no, no! He couldn’t let the Guide see! He couldn’t-!

Through the heavy presence, he felt a wide, teasing grin.

He locked eyes with Kai – _Kuroba_ at the back of the group and scowled.

_Get out_ , he thought, loudly. There was a brief tightening around the thief’s eyes, but no other outward sign he’d heard Conan.

_Oh? You can feel me?_ A voice came unbidden to his mind, like a whisper in his ear. The intimacy made Conan’s cheeks heat.

_Am Sentinel_ , he said, piecewise. It was strange, talking like this. It was partly words, partly images, and partly something entirely different, entirely base instinct. An image of his pill bottle came to mind, the one with Senes-4. _Even if Low_.

_Ah, so you have one sense active._ It wasn’t fair. Why did Kaito – _Kuroba_ get to speak in words? _What brought this on, Tantei-kun?_

_Hakuba. Shielded last heist. Suspicious_. His arms burned. He wanted to scratch at them. He held off.

_Ah, yes, that would be my fault, wouldn’t it? But I couldn’t let him look through your mind, now could I?_

_Fixing it._ Conan mentally started to put the wall back together, piece by crumbling piece. _Leave now._

_Hm… I’m not sure I trust you._ A mocking, yet nervous laugh. Ah, right, it wouldn’t just be Conan losing his secret, were Hakuba to search through his head. KID would be at a loss too. _That wall doesn’t look sturdy._

_Trying!_ Conan wanted to sigh in exasperation.

_If it helps, Hattori-kun’s wall was made of katanas, like a porcupine._

No, that did _not_ … Wait a minute, maybe it did.

Swords were something Hattori knew intimately. He had trained from a young age to hold a katana. His mother was a trained swordswoman and had made sure her son was just as skilled and familiar with a blade. Hattori had boasted that he could fight in his sleep.

What did Conan know well? What would Hakuba expect from him, but not find curious?

The crumbling brick in his mental hand folded over itself again and again until it solidified into a book, comforting in its weight and feel. Books were good. They were safe. They didn’t ask tough questions or make fun of him. They were a portal to another world. They could be a portal to his.

But a wall of books would be suspicious and untidy… unless…

The wall separating ‘Conan’ and ‘Shinichi’ changed, growing taller, wider, and hollow. Shelves jutted outwards as rows upon rows of books flew to fill them. The last case held open like a doorway to the darkest parts of Conan’s memories. As he slid the book he held into place, the shelf swung closed, like the end cover closing on a story. His story –of poisons and gunshots and black hats –was completely sealed off to anyone but himself.

_!_ He felt KID’s shock and amazement. _Wow, Tantei-kun! didn’t know you had it in you!_

_Go away!_ He was embarrassed to admit that the command came with some mental flailing. Hey, he was still trying to figure this stuff out! It’s not like being a Sentinel came with a handbook (... unless it did and Hattori was just being a jerk).

With a laugh, KID obeyed and Conan found himself alone with his thoughts… though not for long.

As soon as Kaito and his shield left, Hakuba rushed in. Conan could feel his curiosity, his wondering of the shield and another Guide’s interest in Conan, but he wouldn’t find anything. All of Conan’s secrets were kept carefully away with the hundreds and hundreds of books he’d read in his lifetime.

Conan smirked at Hakuba’s frustration as the Guide withdrew.

“You hungry?” Hattori asked, causing Conan to snap back into the real world.

“Eh?”

“I asked if you were hungry?” Hattori repeated as he came to stand in front of the other. Came to a _stop_. He had still been walking. The entire exchange between Kaito and him, then Hakuba and him, had taken mere seconds.

That was a scary thought.

He shook himself to disguise the shudder that ran up his spine.

“I had lunch, like, two hours ago,” Conan said as he scratched at his neckline.

“So… that’s a yes?” Hattori grinned.

“I’m not a teenager like you,” Conan groused. “My stomach is only so big.”

“Yeah, but you’re a growing boy! Boy’s gotta eat!” Hattori watched Conan scratch for a few minutes before frowning. “Hey, what’s with the itching?”

Conan looked at him as if he were stupid. Then he subtly flicked his gaze to Hakuba and back. Hattori’s eyes went wide. “It’s your-?”

“Did you get into some poison ivy, Conan-kun?” Hakuba asked as he, too, noticed Conan’s scratching.

“Mah… Maybe,” Conan asked nervously. “We did play outside for recess today…”

“Or it could be an allergic reaction,” Kaito said, eyes bright and _knowing_. “If your Nee-chan changed detergents on you, your skin may react badly.”

That… could also work. In fact, it was probably better. It would explain why his ‘rash’ will disappear overnight.

“If not, the ivy oils could also soak into your clothes and cause further irritation.” Hakuba frowned, then looked around. “We should find you a clothing store around here and switch out your outfit.”

“I’ll take him!” Kaito volunteered. “You and Hat-chan wait in line for a seat, ‘kay? We’ll be right back.”

Before Hattori or Hakuba could protest, Kaito grabbed Conan by the hand and led him away. Once they were out of earshot, Conan gave KID the side-eye. “Any particular reason that you needed to be the one to help me out?”

“Other than keeping up the appearance of Kuroba Kaito, amateur magician and friend to children everywhere?” Kaito kept his grin bright and quieted as they passed two people –a man and a woman.

“I’m just saying,” the woman complained. “When you had said that you were taking me out, I thought you meant somewhere nice!”

“Himiko, you know how tight money is right now…” the man said uneasily.

“I’ve told you! You should get a better job!” the woman snapped. Her complaints faded into the distance as Kaito and Conan continued down the road and into a small store.

_A Guide takes care of a Sentinel_. KID’s voice came unbidden again. Conan cast an eye around the store. _Don’t worry, there aren’t any Guides in this store._

_Not worried_ , Conan thought, even though it was what he was worried about.

_Sure, sure, Tantei-kun_. Kaito’s tone was nothing but patronizing. Out loud, he said. “What about this one, Conan-kun?”

It was a plain blue, long-sleeved shirt, nothing too descript. Reaching out, Conan took it from him as Kaito turned to find pants. Between his fingers, the shirt felt soft and silky smooth, so different from the one he was currently wearing. What was the difference…?

The tag said 100% cotton. Yeah, that would do it.

“Aren’t these adorable?!” Kaito squealed as he held up a tiny pair of tan cargo pants.

Conan scowled. “They’re too short.”

Kaito made a face. “They’re capris.”

Brow furrowing, Conan turned the term over in his head. “You mean like girl pants?”

Kaito stared at him, then turned away with a huff. “You have no fashion sense, you heathen.”

...What? What did he do?

Before Conan could begin to determine what had ticked the thief off, another pair of pants were shoved into his arms. A pair of new socks found their way to the top of the pile.

“Let’s go find a cashier,” Kaito said, walking off in search of one.

“Wait, I need to try them on,” Conan protested, trying to juggle the items in his hands.

“No you don’t.” Kaito cast a glance back on him before locking onto a saleswoman. “They’ll fit.”

Conan frowned. “How do you know?”

KID flashed him a grin (definitely a KID grin) and then turned to the saleswoman. “Excuse me, Miss?”

“Oh!” she turned to him and returned his smile. “Can I help you with something?”

“We’d like to purchase these items.” Kaito pointed down at Conan’s hands. “But I was wondering if my little brother could change here? We got a new detergent at home and it looks like he’s got a rash from it.”

“Of course!” she looked worriedly down at Conan, who proceeded to scratch at his arms and the back of his neck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just for show. His skin felt like it was _crawling_ against his flesh.

The check-out went quickly with Kaito flashing a credit card before ushering Conan into a dressing room.

_Could have paid_ , Conan thought sulkily.

_Really? Do you even have any money?_

_Allowance_. Conan’s thoughts drifted to the pocket change Ran gave him every week, then to the actual allowance from his parents. _Emergency fund_.

There was a feeling of contemplation from KID before something like akin to denial. _Keep it for when you need it. When you’re big again, then you can pay me back._

Conan didn’t like the vagueness of exactly when this would occur, but it made him feel better. The soft clothes against his skin felt even more so. He let out a sigh of relief and picked up the old clothes. Folding them up, he put them into his back pack and slipped it on.

“Ready?” Kaito called from the other side of the curtain.

“I guess,” Conan grumbled, pushing it aside.

Kaito looked down at him and cooed. “Aw! You’re so cute!”

“Let’s just get back to Hattori and Hakuba,” Conan ordered, ignoring the way his cheeks reddened.

“Of course, Conan-kun.” Kaito beamed and held out his hand for Conan to take. It made his cheeks heat further, but Conan put his hand in the thief’s and let the teen pull him along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half-way through guys! :) Then there will be another hiatus, but it will be longer because it runs into Thanksgiving and Christmas and I just never find time to do more writing during those months.
> 
> But don't worry, still got 6 more chapters to go.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Magic Kaito or Detective Conan or the Sentinel franchise, only the ideas behind this fic.
> 
> PS - sorry about the late update everyone. I had my family come in from out of town and this is the first change I got to sit down and update. 
> 
> Good news is: There's finally a dead body! :D ... Wait, is that good news?

Kuroba and little Conan had barely left before Saguru felt irritation ripple across his skin. It caused the hairs on his arms to rise and prickled along his shoulders, making them to draw up defensively.

He was surprised. Since he wasn’t an Empath, Saguru only rarely picked up on the emotions of others when he wasn’t focusing on them. Only the truly strong emotions managed to catch his attention. The way this irritation picked at him like a scab certainly felt strong.

Then he heard it.

“—could have gone somewhere nicer! Like a steakhouse —and there’s a _line_!” the woman behind them hissed to her companion. “You should have made a reservation!”

Saguru felt Hattori turn to glare at them, but carefully kept his gaze forward.

“What are _you_ looking at?” the woman demanded in a voice Saguru just _knew_ Hattori would take as a challenge. Before the Sentinel could respond, the hostess came back.

“All right, I have a table for you, if you would just follow me.” The hostess gestured with a set of menus.

“Actually, our friends haven’t returned.” Saguru smiled and held a hand towards the two behind him. “Perhaps you could seat these two?”

“Are you sure?” the hostess asked, looking between Saguru and Hattori, concerned. Saguru would be concerned too, if someone else had been under the fire of Hattori’s glare. But he was quickly finding himself immune.

“Perfectly sure.” His smile grew as Hattori’s glare intensified.

The hostess seemed to take him at face value and turned to the two behind. “This way, please.”

“Now _that’s_ how a gentleman acts!” the woman said, eyes roving down Saguru’s uniform. She sniffed at her companion. “You could afford to learn a thing or two.”

His reply was lost to the bustle of the restaurant.

“What was _that_?!” Hattori hissed, clearly outraged. “Why are you being nice to her when she’s done nothing but _complain_ for the last two blocks?!”

Two blocks? Ah, his hearing was dialed up. Subtly, Saguru nudged it back down as he answered. “I could feel her irritation before they arrived. If we continued to be an obstacle, her ire towards us would only rise.”

“So what if she gets mad?” Hattori demanded. “It’s not like we’re sitting at her table, trying to make conversation!”

“To you, it would seem like nothing.” Saguru ducked his head. “But I assure you, it would be very uncomfortable.”

Hattori opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. His eyes turned sharp, looking Saguru over, seeing far too more than Saguru wished. “It’s a Guide thing, isn’t it?”

Saguru just looked at him in answer.

Hattori let out an explosive sigh. “You realized that’s what a Sentinel is for, right? So that people can’t push you around by making you uncomfortable? Kinda in the job description.

Saguru opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t, because: No, he did not realize that was a Sentinel’s duty. It was just something he had come to live with as a high-ranked Guide.

Hattori noticed this, rolled his eyes, and took a seat on a waiting bench. “Just keep it in mind for next time. I don’t want to lose my seat just because some girl is having a bad day.”

Saguru wanted to point out it applied to both men and women, but he decided that wouldn’t help his case. Instead, he took a seat next to the slouching Hattori and crossed his legs to wait.

A couple more people ended up in line behind them, showing that they’d arrived at one of the busiest times for the restaurant. Saguru heard one hostess telling a customer that it was a twenty minute wait if they were to ask for a table now.

Popular indeed.

When the first hostess returned, she looked between them and the others standing in line. “Are you still waiting on your friends?”

Saguru didn’t need Hattori glaring at him to know the answer. “I believe we can wait for them inside.”

The hostess smiled, picked up four menus and said. “Follow me.”

*             *             *             *             *

“Just go and do your _job_! It’s all you’re good for, after all,” a shrill voice called from off to his left. Heiji turned to watch a waiter stumble back from a table that seated a pair of people —oh. It was _her_. Three tables away on the other side of the aisle, the woman who Hakuba had let cut in front of him was steaming next to her male companion.

Ugh, and Heiji had to hear her complain the whole time? The twenty-minute wait for a different table might be worth it.

But Hakuba was already sliding in, giving the seat next to him a very pointed look. Heiji suppressed a sigh and slid in next to him. Elbow on the table and chin in his hand, Heiji watched the waiter walk back to the kitchen (though it looked like he wanted to run). There, the man spoke to a woman and handed off their order, presumably, Heiji thought, to trade off tables.

Yeah, Heiji couldn’t blame the guy.

The waitress went over, stern look on her face. She arrived at the table to cross her arms and glare. “Minato.”

“Sh-Shizuka!” the man sputtered before correcting himself bashfully. “I mean, Minoru-san. W-when did you start working here?”

“Weeks ago, though this has never been my shift,” she answered curtly. She turned to the woman, apparently done with the man. “You have some nerve coming here with my ex and then trashing my friends. Are you looking for a fight?”

The woman didn’t respond, face downturned. The man was quick to jump to her defense. “Himiko didn’t mean anything by it. She was just… surprised! To see him here. She is sorry for the incident, right Himiko?”

The woman didn’t say anything.

“I want to hear it from her,” the waitress demanded.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Heiji startled at the sudden, close question. He hadn’t realized he’d zoned in enough to ignore the waiter from before arriving at their table. “Sir?”

“Hattori-kun?” Hakuba asked, eyeing him. Had he noticed?

“Cola, please,” Heiji replied. The man turned to Hakuba who asked for tea. Before the waiter could escape, Heiji asked. “What’s with that woman?”

“Who?” the waiter looked over to where Heiji was staring. “Oh. That’s Futaku Himiko. She… is my ex. The breakup was… messy.”

“And who are you?” Heiji asked, ignoring the way Hakuba was staring at him.

“Oyashi Akihiiko,” the waiter replied, pointing to his name tag.

“And the waitress over there now?” Heiji nodded to her. He felt Hakuba’s attention drift over to the table. The woman, Himiko, was actively complaining about the service and demanding that the waitress do her job.

“Minoru Shizuka, one of the… many reasons of our messy breakup.” Akihiiko winced. “She is the ex of the man over there, Haizuki Minato. He and Himiko had started seeing each other while they were still in a relationship with us. The whole thing was just a mess.”

“Ah, sorry to bring it up,” Heiji said, even though he wasn’t. The waitress had left and the woman’s head was dropped to her chest again.

Something was wrong here.

“No worries, no harm done,” Akihiiko replied. “Can I get your orders?”

“Not yet,” Hakuba answered. “We’re waiting on two more.”

Heiji stared at the woman, trying to figure out what was bugging him. Akihiiko left and returned with their drinks, but Heiji only vaguely noticed him and then he was gone again.

“You think something is going to happen?” Hakuba asked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Heiji replied, taking a sip of his drink. “But I want to watch and make sure. Something doesn’t sit right in my gut.”

Hakuba scoffed. “Gut.”

This started an argument that ‘yes, a gut-feeling _is_ a reliable source of information’, during which Heiji couldn’t help but look back at the woman, multiple times.

Some bread came for them to snack on and Heiji continued to glance at Himiko as the couple spoke quietly. The woman was pretty unresponsive. Perhaps she was still mad about the restaurant?

The waitress brought the other couple their food and left far too quickly, not even asking if they needed anything else. The man, Minato, looked a little perplexed, but Himiko just picked up her utensils and started in. Heiji frowned. He would have expected her to complain about service again, not… _ignore_ the waitress’ rude behavior.

The flash of her utensils caught his eye. The knife shimmered as she cut into her chicken. The fork glinted as she stabbed a piece and brought it carefully to her mouth before starting on another piece.

Shimmer, glint, stab. Shimmer, glint, stab.

Some quiet, cut-off part of Heiji noted the arrival of Conan and Kuroba, but it was in a distant, ‘not-important’ kind of way.

Shimmer, glint, stab. Shimmer… glint… stab…

Shimmer.

Glint.

Stab.

Shimmer…

Glint…

Stab…

Shimmer…

…

Glint…

...

 _Hey_. Someone tugged at the edges of his mind. His microscopic gaze drew back. _Stop staring at her. She’ll throw a fit._

Throw a fit? Stare? … Oh!

Heiji blinked as he came back to himself, then blinked a few more times to quench the dry burn of his eyes. Man, _that_ hurt.

 _You’re welcome_ , Hakuba said snootily. Heiji gave him a glare, to the confused looks of Conan and Kuroba.

“Something wrong?” Kuroba asked, a polite frown settling on his features.

“No,” Heiji replied as he tore his gaze from Hakuba. “Just recognized the lady from before who was kicking up a big fuss about the long wait. She also yelled at the waiter and the waitress that replaced her. She’s not bein’ too loud now, though.”

Kaito looked to where Heiji had Zoned. “Oh, her! We passed her on our way to a clothing store. She seemed pretty upset then too. Maybe her boyfriend appeased her?”

Conan looked over and stared some himself. The little brat could get away with it too since he was a ‘kid’.

“Maybe…” Heiji tore a dinner roll in half before biting a chunk out of it. “She didn’t seem like the type to quiet down though. You should have seen her go at the waiter —her ex, if you can believe it. She got all up in his face, so much that he had to send someone else out with their meal.”

“Ah, but then the waitress that came out was her _boyfriend’s_ ex. She and the girl had it out, but the woman seemed less hot-headed and more subdued that time.” Hakuba rested his palms over top of each other on the table. “Perhaps she regretted her rude behavior?”

“People like that don’t regret that fast,” Heiji noted. Hakuba shot him a questioning look, but before Heiji could explain, Conan interrupted them.

“She’s not breathing,” he stated in a very matter-of-fact way, even as he leapt from the booth to run over.

“What?!” Heiji demanded as he stumbled to his feet and gave chase.

“Oji-san?” Conan grabbed hold of the man’s sleeve. “You need to get up! Now!”

“What?” the man asked, face growing angry. “What now? Can’t I enjoy a meal with my girlfriend in peace?”

“If you don’t move soon, you won’t _have_ a girlfriend!” Heiji yelled, grabbing the man by the front of his jacket. “She’s suffocating _right next to you_ , bastard!”

“W-what?” the man turned to the woman in the booth next to him. Realizing the validity of their words, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her. “Hey, Himiko! Hey! _Hey_! Wake up! This isn’t funny! Himiko!”

“Out of the way!” Heiji dragged the man from the booth. “Hakuba-!”

“On it!” Hakuba said, pulling out his phone. “Police and ambulance, right?”

“You got it!” Heiji confirmed as he dragged the dead weight of the woman from the booth and situated her on the floor. Ready to start CPR, he tipped her head back to check her throat for blockage —only to have his mind grind to a halt.

Her entire throat was swollen shut.

“What’s wrong?” Conan asked, leaning in close to check her out too. He must have seen the same as Heiji because he immediately drew back, yelling for an epi-pen. “Does anyone have one? She’s suffering an allergic reaction!”

The gathering crowd broke into murmurs, everyone searching, but Heiji couldn’t wait any longer. Instead of forcing air into her lungs, he got started on the chest compressions. Theoretically, there was enough air trapped in the blood stream to last the eight minutes it took for an ambulance to arrive. He just had to keep the oxidized blood moving now that her heart had stopped.

“Himiko!” the man fell to his knees beside her. “Himiko!”

“Stay back!” Heiji growled, pushing the guy aside. “I know y’like her, but yer in the way!”

The man scrambled back, though he still hovered, hands reaching out like he wanted to help, but didn’t know _how_. Heiji didn’t have time for him now.

Pressing two fingers below the woman’s sternum, he measured to the area where chest compressions wouldn’t break the bone and started on hard, steady thrusts. He had no idea how much oxygen was left in her blood, nor how long she’d been out before Kudou had noticed her lack of breathing. All he could do was continue chest compressions until the sound of sirens reached his ears.

They were still three blocks away, but quickly approaching. If he could just-!

“Hattori.” A tiny hand subtly pressed onto his bicep. He knew that voice, knew that tone, knew what it _meant_ , but-!

He hated when he couldn’t do anything useful.

So he continued compressions until the medics came and took his place. One kept up with the compressions as another pressed a needle under the woman’s skin; a serum to alieve her allergic reaction.

Megure and his officers arrived just as the EMs announced what Heiji and Kudou already knew.

The woman, Futaku Himiko, was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Hattori calls it, doesn't he? I'm sure there's more to gut feelings than Hakuba realizes. ;)
> 
> Anyway, any creative guesses on the who, how, and why? :) I really tried to make this one like a cannon one, so it might be harder than my other ones thus far. Let me know your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the events in this fic.
> 
> PS - More info on the murder case. Next will be the reveal, so if you guys have any thoughts or guesses on who the perp is, feel free to let me know! :)

“So, what’s the scene?” Megure asked to the officer next to him. Takagi took out his book before reporting.

“Eye-witness testimony is that the victim, Futaku Himiko, had been in the middle of her meal when she fell unconscious. Preliminary results say that her loss of consciousness is due to asphyxiation.” Takagi reported.

“So she choked?” Megure surmised. In that case, they could call this an accident and be done with it.

“Not exactly.” Takagi turned a page in his book. “One of the witnesses attempted to perform CPR, but reports that her throat was swollen shut. There may have been food blocking her esophagus, but it was not what caused her to asphyxiate.”

“CPR?” Megure loaded a suspicious look Takagi’s way. “Takagi-kun, who are these ‘eye-witnesses’?”

“Uh, well…” Takagi laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. At the persistence of Megure’s look, he sighed and pointed behind him to where Hattori, Hakuba, Conan and another teen stood.

“I should have known,” Megure sighed and addressed them. “Hattori-kun, Conan-kun. Nice to see you again. And… Hakuba-kun?”

“I’m surprised you know my name.” Hakuba shook his hand.

“I’ve heard things from Division Three,” Megure replied in lieu of a full answer. When his gaze caught on the last witness, his eyes widened. “Kudou-kun? It’s good to see you again!”

“Ah, no…” the witness held up his hands in nervous surrender. “I’m not sure who Kudou is, but I’m not him. Sorry.”

“O-oh.” Megure squinted at him. “I see now. Yes, you two are different. I apologize.”

“Don’t let it get to you, Megure-keibu.” Hattori waved off his concern. “I thought the same when I first saw him. Kuroba and Kudou have similar faces, yanno?”

“So, are you a detective too?” Megure steeled himself for the answer.

“No, no.” Kuroba waved his hands, weak smile on his face. “Amateur magician. I won’t be _any_ help at a crime scene.”

“Oh.” Megure blinked at him, then cleared his throat. “Well, I will have one less unauthorized person running around my crime scene, so… thank you for that.”

“Right.” Kuroba nodded. “I’ll just… stay over by our table, neh? You guys come get me when we’re done here.”

“Sure,” Hattori answered, already turned to the crime scene. Conan made a similar noise of confirmation. Hakuba gave Kuroba a wary look, but once he saw him follow his promise, he looked away.

“Inspector, might I suggest interviewing the potential suspects?” Hakuba pulled a small booklet from his pocket, much like Takagi had.

“Suspects?” Megure blinked at him.

“I think we have reason to believe that this was a murder, not a simple accident,” Hakuba said, looking to where Hattori was looking at the woman’s meal, careful not to touch, just in case. “Not to speak ill of the dead, but she was not a well-liked woman by her peers. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for one of them to take a shot when they saw one.”

“Hmm…” Megure didn’t know how he felt about having these _detectives_ on the scene, but at least Hakuba seemed to understand police protocol. “And you know who these suspects are?”

“We were fortunate enough to speak with one before the incident and come to understand who the important parties were,” Hakuba replied. “We also believe that the cause of death was an allergic reaction, though which ingredient in particular, we do not yet know. The investigators are looking into her medical records.”

“We?” Megure asked.

“Hattori-kun and I,” Hakuba answered. “Kuroba-kun and Conan-kun had to take a trip to the clothing store to trade out Conan’s outfit. It appears he had gotten into some poison ivy or some derivative during recess. As such, they did not get a chance to speak with the possible suspects.”

“Ah.” Megure nodded. He knew kids could get into a lot of things, though Conan getting into poison ivy? Sounded unusual for the careful little boy. “Well, let’s take a look at those suspects then.”

*             *             *             *             *

“Please state your name, occupation, and relation to the victim please.”

“Oyashi Akihiiko, waiter and part-time convenience store clerk,” the waiter said, looking nervously to where Hakuba and Takagi were taking notes. His eyes flicked back to Megure. “I was Himiko’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Is this a recent development?” Megure asked.

“Not really?” the waiter scratched at the back of his neck. “I think it’s been… two months? Since we broke up? I haven’t been paying close attention.”

“Being an ex-boyfriend, would you happen to know what Futaku-san was allergic to?”

“Mushrooms,” Oyashi answered without preamble. “She was deathly allergic to them. Always carried an epi-pen around when she thought she might run into them in some way, shape, or form.”

“Hmm…” Megure looked over to make sure Takagi took note of the allergy. “Can you recount your actions since Futaku-san first entered the restaurant to those leading up to the event?”

“Um…” Oyashi took on a pensive look. “I received Himiko and Haizuki-san as my customers. The table was part of my line up for the night, but Himiko was… surprised? I guess? That I was working here. She wasn’t happy to see me again and yelled at me when I asked for their drink order.”

“Quite an embarrassing scene,” Megure agreed. “After a scene like that, it would be tempting to misplace an order so that she got some mushrooms that you knew she was allergic to.”

“What?” Oyashi’s eyes grew wide at the implication. “No, no! I didn’t put her order in! Not at all! After she yelled at me, I begged my coworker to take over the table for me! I didn’t even get a _glance_ at what she and Haizuki had ordered!”

“Hmm…” Megure frowned, but Hakuba nodded to him. Looks like that followed with what the teen had witnessed. “Very well. What happened after that?”

“I visited their table.” Oyashi nodded to Hakuba and the other two behind them, Conan and Hattori, inspecting the body. “Took their drink orders. Then it was off to more tables, setting out appetizers, filling more requests… Honestly, I didn’t realize there was a problem until someone was yelling for the doors to be locked until the police arrived.”

“Did you lock the doors?” Megure asked.

“No. The manager did.” Oyashi pointed over to a middle-aged man who was trying to settle down the other customers.

“Hmm…” So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Megure might check back in later. One last question though. “Did you see notice anything else weird before you traded off tables?”

“Umm… Oh!” Oyashi frowned slightly. “Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird that neither Himiko nor Haizuki asked for the dessert menu.”

“The dessert menu?”

Oyashi shrugged. “She always loved dessert. She’d ask for that menu before the main one sometimes.”

“Huh…” Megure wasn’t sure what to do with that information, so he stowed it away for later. “We may have some other questions for you, so please don’t go anywhere.”

“Can I continue serving tables?” Oyashi asked nervously. “I think the manager wants to get these people through as fast as possible.”

“He’ll have a hard time, seeing as no one is allowed to leave until this is solved,” Megure answered, turning away to the next suspect.

*             *             *             *             *

“Please state your name, occupation, and relation to the victim please.”

“Minoru Shizuka, waitress and part-time barista.” The waitress crossed her arms. “Haizuki Minato’s ex-girlfriend. Other than that, no relation.”

“Another ex,” Megure noted. “Recent development?”

“Two months, four days,” she recounted. “Same time Oyashi-kun and Futaku-san broke up. I suppose you know why?”

Megure didn’t… then it hit him. “An affair?”

“Yup.” The ‘p’ popped sarcastically. “Don’t know why he did it. She’s nothing special after all. Sure, she’s a pretty face, but she’s got a big chip on her shoulder… or _did_ anyway.”

Megure wasn’t here to get in the middle of a cat-fight. “Can you tell us of the events from when Futaku-san entered the restaurant and those leading up to the event?”

“Don’t know about before I got her table, but I do remember a lot of yelling and Oyashi coming back all dark and gloomy.” Minoru shifted onto her other leg. “He practically begged me to take on the table, offering to take _two_ of mine, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to get back at her for stealing Minato from me.”

“By poisoning her food?” Megure’s gaze darkened.

“Ugh, no! Just making her cause a scene and having the manager ask her to leave!” Minoru huffed and turned her gaze away. “She was off though, didn’t put up much of a fight.”

‘Off’, huh? Something to remember later.

“And when you didn’t get the reaction you were looking for…” Megure started.

Minoru glared at him. “I didn’t do anything to her food! Besides, I didn’t even know she was allergic!”

“But you fled the table quickly afterwards,” Hakuba noted, speaking up for the first time in a while. “A little too quickly for profession’s sake.”

Minoru’s arms switched from being crossed to holding herself. She bit her lip, as if to keep from speaking.

Megure frowned and prodded again.

“Why were you so quick to flee the scene?”

“Other than her rude manners? I’m allergic to the mushrooms too. I still have a five-hour shift after this.”

“Same allergy? Then why didn’t you hand over your epi-pen?”

“Like I said, I still have a five-hour shift —anything could happen.” She frowned, “Besides, epis are like glasses. You have a certain prescription according to your allergy and severity of reaction. My epi might have helped, might have done nothing at all, or might have made matters worse. That wasn’t something I wanted to risk when I might still need it.”

Minoru drew in on herself. “Allergic reactions aren’t fun. Being unable to breathe, feeling your throat close up, _knowing_ you’re running out of time... Death by one is… I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Even _her_.”

Megure nodded. “And after you arrived with their order?”

“I waited other tables. I have more than one table at a time, you know, and the restaurant was packed.” She gave them a dead-eyed look. “I honestly didn’t think I’d have time for a break until at least 7:30 when the dinner rush was over.”

“Hmm…” Megure tipped his hat to her. “Thank you for your time. We ask that you stay around until we have spoken with everyone, just in case we have any other questions.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She waved them off and returned to the manager.

Megure turned to the last suspect.

*             *             *             *             *

“Please state your name, occupation, and relation to the victim please.”

“Haizuki Minato, Commercial delivery man. Himiko’s current boyfriend.” The man frowned. “Am I being treated as a suspect?”

“I assure you, this is just a formality.” Megure soothed quickly. This was far from the worst reaction he’d had to being questioned. “You were the person closest to her during her last moments. We’re hoping you can give us a different view point, if you don’t mind."

“Of course.”

“Can you tell us the victim’s actions through-out the day, leading up to the incident?”

“I can try?” Haizuki frowned, eyes thoughtful. “I didn’t spend much time with her today. I had some deliveries for the company to pull off, but after that, I came home and invited her out. We rarely went out to nice restaurants. My job doesn’t pull in much money.”

“I see.” Megure looked to Hakuba. The teen had told him that the couple had brief, _vocal_ spats about the chosen restaurant, though it had appeared more one-sided than anything. “Did she appear any different than yesterday? Or the day before?”

“No? She seemed in good health.” Haizuki shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. I still can’t believe it _happened_!”

The last thing they needed was for the man to get hysterical again. It had taken a good ten minutes to calm him down the first time. Megure moved on. “Did Futaku-san normally carry an epi-pen with her?”

“Yes? Yes. She did.” Haizuki nodded. “In her purse.”

“So why didn’t you think to get out her epi-pen when it became clear that she was having an allergic reaction?”

The man became ashamed. “Because she didn’t have it with her today. It’s my fault. I told her that I wanted to take her out somewhere nice. I told her that I would pay, so she could leave her purse at home. To think, if only she’d brought it-!”

Megure suppressed a sigh.

“Oi, keibu!” Hattori called from beside the body. “You might want to take a look at this!”

“Hmm?” Megure walked over to peer over the teen’s shoulder. Hattori had the sleeve of the victim’s shirt pinched between two ends of his handkerchief, keeping his fingerprints away from the scene. Revealed from the sleeve, the victim’s arm had patches of bright red bumps. “Is that…?”

“Another allergic reaction,” Hattori confirmed. “Topical only it seems, but it’s something that she would have noticed.”

Megure turned to Haizuki. “Did you know about this?”

“Y-yes.” The man looked down at the body, then back up. “I came home from work and found her itching at her arms. She thought it might have been a reaction to something else.”

“And you still took her out to eat?”

“It’s a rash, not a life-threatening disease.” Haizuki scowled. “Yeah, she didn’t want to go out at first, but I suggested some anti-histamine and she seemed fine afterwards. A little drowsy, but that’s expected. She usually is after one of those.”

Megure stared at the man, frowning. Things weren’t adding up, but everything Haizuki said was the truth and, more importantly, the _right thing to say_.

Megure sighed.

Looks like this wouldn’t be an easy case after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, any thoughts? Any deductions that anyone wants to share? :) 
> 
> No? That's fine too. :) You'll just have to wait until next week for the reveal!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the idea behind this fanfic.
> 
> PS - Wow, guys! I think the votes were split pretty down the middle between the ex-girlfriend and the current boyfriend. The answer is in the story below, but I want to clarify one thing -a mistake on my part. 
> 
> The Ex-girlfriend *did not* know that the victim was allergic to mushrooms before the incident. She overheard it when the police were questioning the other suspects. I did not realize that I had made this contradiction until you guys pointed it out. I'm sorry if that messed with your deduction skills! 
> 
> Also, also! :D Have you guys heard of the story Dominoes? It's an *incredible* DCMK fic and it's just been updated twice in two weeks! I was afraid that it had been abandoned, but it's back and still just as good as ever! If you're looking for something to read this weekend and haven't given it a try, I definitely recommend!
> 
> Okay, done freaking out over new fic updates. Onto the story.

While Megure, Takagi, and Hakuba were interviewing the suspects, Conan examined the body. The victim was where the EMTs left her after pronouncing her dead. The crime scene morticians would arrive shortly to catalog the scene, so Conan had until then to come up with some more evidence and clues. After that, he’d been brushed off as some nosy kid.

He had to work fast.

Eyes roving over her in a cold, clinical way, he spotted something of interest peeking out from underneath thin cloth. Carefully, with handkerchief as a barrier between them, Conan rolled up her sleeves to reveal tiny, bright red bumps littering her arms in patches. Hives, a dermal reaction to an allergy stimulus. Most likely, she came in contact with the allergen before coming to the restaurant.

But surely, it wouldn’t be in her house, right? Who would keep something they were heavily allergic to in their own home?

Conan eyed the suspects again, not noticing Hattori looking in the other direction.

*             *             *             *             *

Heiji watched Kuroba from the corner of his eye, frown on his face.

The Guide had stayed near their table after the incident had occurred instead of running over to help. Heiji had thought that maybe it was to keep the teen from having any run-ins with the police, despite differing Divisions to the KID Taskforce, but…

Kuroba’s face was kept carefully blank, too much so. His breath was a little _too_ measured and his crossed arms held a little _too_ closely to his chest. If that wasn’t enough to convince Heiji something was wrong, the quiet, nearly indistinct undertone of ‘Guide-in-distress’ was starting to permeate the area.

Put all of that together and Heiji knew: Kuroba was on the cusp of Guide Shock.

If they didn’t act fast, every Guide in the vicinity would be echoing the distress signal and the Sentinels (if there were any other than Kudou and him) would be whipped into a frenzy. They had to do something and soon, but…

Heiji glanced at where Hakuba was taking notes, his hands tightening into frustrated fists in his pockets.

If Heiji were to help Kuroba, his Guide level would be revealed —whatever it may truly be. High level Sentinels responded in differing degrees equal to the rank of Guide in trouble. If he noticed, Hakuba would be able to tell that Heiji’s response didn’t match Kuroba’s level. Heiji couldn’t be the one to help…

But Kudou could.

Heiji wandered over to the body, making it look like he was getting a closer look, but he was really just getting closer to Kudou. Nonchalant, he sat down on his heels next to the boy and cast an eye over what had caught Kudou’s interest.

Red patches on the skin, interesting. Meaning that the victim had come into contact with the allergen long before-!

Wait, no! Guide-in-distress. Right.

“Oi,” Heiji called softly, trying not to get anyone else’s attention. Conan turned to look at him, but Heiji stubbornly kept his gaze forward. Sensing a sensitive subject, Kudou followed suit, eyes turning to the body again.

“Did you see something?” Kudou asked.

“Yeah, but not something about the scene,” Heiji said quietly, nearly a mumble. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kudou raise an eyebrow. He hazarded a look behind him. “Kuroba ain’t doin’ so hot. He’s sending out distress waves.”

Both eyebrows rose now as Kudou looked back to Kuroba. He frowned and turned forward again. “I thought I felt a tugging feeling in the back of my mind. I didn’t realize it was him.”

“You should go over and comfort him,” Heiji suggested. He saw the outrage coming before Kudou could even glare at him. “I’m not trying to be petty with our rivalry. Kuroba could cause a big scene if he goes into Guide Shock. All the other Guides will sympathize whether they know him or not and any Sentinels in the area will react in a mob mindset. It could potentially even affect _Neutrals_. It will be chaos and your cover _will_ be blown.”

Kudou continued to glare at him and stew for several long seconds before the fight fled him in a long sigh. “What do I do?”

“In Guide Shock, Guides tend to dissociate from the world around them. They need some physical sense to ground themselves on,” Heiji explained. “They actually realize they are going into shock, so they’ll latch onto just about anyone, Sentinel or not.”

Kudou gave him a dead-eyed look. “You know that isn’t helpful, right? What do _I_ do about it?”

“I don’t… it’s just an Instinct thing!” Heiji sighed harshly and tugged his hat off in order to drag a hand through his hair. “I can’t explain it, okay? Just go over there and think _really hard_ about one of your senses… or the only one you have maxed out. Kuroba should be able to take it from there.”

Kudou huffed again. He gave a longing look to the crime scene, but reluctantly turned away. Heiji knew how much it hurt to leave a crime scene unsolved, but it would be good practice for the other detective.

After all, _his_ Guide wasn’t a teen detective like Hakuba was. Until Kuroba could toughen up his stomach, Kudou might have to leave a lot more than one crime scene behind.

*             *             *             *             *

Kaito kept his eyes locked forward, not focusing on the scene in front of him with a — _poisoned body, dead in their chair, not his fault, but called there in his **name** -!_

He subtly pressed his fingers into his side, slotting them between his ribs and _digging_. The pain was dulled beneath his jacket and shirt, but it was there and distracting and just what he needed to forget about — _a dead, lifeless corpse, broken from the fall, slipped right through his fingers, if only he had-!_

No, no, no! Keep it together! Don’t think about _—a crash, fiery explosion, a trick gone **so wrong** , charred remains unrecognizable, his mother crying-!_

“Kaito-nii-san?”

Kaito blinked slowly and looked down to Conan, Kudou, _Tantei-kun_ , staring up at him. Conan lifted his arms, reaching to Kaito. Kaito frowned, not understanding what he wanted from him.

“Up!” Conan demanded after a moment. A brief hesitation, then Kaito mechanically bent and picked the child-sized teen up, settling him on his hip.

As small arms wrapped around his throat to hold on, Kaito felt himself breathe a little easier. One of his own settled on the back of Conan’s neck, skin-to-skin contact easing the crawling sensation of his skin. Instead, it felt like he was blanketed in soft silk, soothing to his _itched-raw skin. So much better than earlier that day when he wanted to scratch his skin off if only to get rid of the itching!_

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Conan said quietly in his ear. Kaito stiffened. He had only come because Tantei-kun-! “If a body scares you this much, you could have waited at the front of the restaurant or outside, so you didn’t have to see it.”

 _Not scared_. Kaito shakily set over a healthy dose of indignation, even as he buried his face in Conan’s neck. _Just… bad memories_.

“What kind of memories could a thief have with dead bodies?” Conan asked, genuinely curious.

 _Lots_. Kaito thought about the few run-ins he’d had with Conan. He thought about the magical cabin in the snow, the golden mansion in the woods, the painting that stole life to live. He shuddered and felt the sensations against his skin thicken, soothing the roiling emotions the memories brought. _Don’t like them. At all._

“I’m not sure why you came then,” Conan repeated. “Hattori warned you what would happen, didn’t he?”

Yeah, but Kaito hadn’t thought it would be so _instantaneous_ or so _cruel_.

Death by asphyxiation had never sounded pleasant.

Kaito just held him tighter in lieu of a response. Conan scoffed. “Don’t worry. Hattori’s got this almost figured out. Once he points out the culprit, we can go somewhere else to eat.”

 _Not hungry_. Kaito felt like his stomach might rebel if he tried to put anything in it. He didn’t want Hakuba to make fun of him for that.

“Not even some ice cream?” Conan asked, the tone of _knowing_ in his voice and the edges of his mind where he pressed against Kaito’s. And… ice cream? Chocolate ice cream? With hot fudge?

Conan snorted. “I knew it.”

Kaito huffed, but didn’t say anything. His breathing was able to keep track of itself now. His lungs no longer felt like they would implode. He didn’t want to give up the sensation on his skin yet, but he could probably handle looking up now. He was prepared now. He knew what was waiting for him. He could do this.

Kaito swallowed thickly.

“Oi,” Conan said grumpily. “I can feel your heartrate going up again. Don’t go freaking yourself out.”

“Such a good Tantei-kun, keeping an eye out for me.” Kaito gave him a shaky but strengthening grin.

“I just don’t want my hard work to go to waste.” Conan squirmed until he was leaning back in Kaito’s arms instead of being wrapped around him. Kaito felt an itchy sensation develop in his palms as Conan’s pressed firmly against his uniform. Well, it was a distraction of a different sort. “What got to you this time?”

“Just… curious how you can be so calm in a situation like this,” Kaito replied, skipping around the question.

Conan eyed him carefully, but shrugged and looked back to where Hakuba and Hattori were working with the police. “When you’ve got a detective as a father and murder mysteries as your childhood, you slowly become numb to this. I’ve had lots of years to practice.”

“Becoming numb to death doesn’t sound like a good idea,” Kaito noted. Conan’s fingers tightened in his shirt, making the itching feeling prickle between Kaito’s knuckles.

“Every human dies at some point,” Conan said without emotion. “It’s the way of the world. It’s sad that some die sooner, but if I can find their killer and bring them to light? I like to think that it helps their souls to rest easier. That means I need to be able to see the situation from all angles. I can’t let my emotions or stomach interfere with that.”

That was a different way of looking at it, a justified one…

One Kaito would, most likely, need to cultivate, should he ever think to Bond with Kudou Shinichi. He didn’t like the thought of that.

Steeling himself, Kaito shot a fleeting glance in the direction of the body before turning it back to Conan. “So? What’s the deal with this body?”

*             *             *             *             *

Conan looked to where Hattori had gathered the officers, about to put on his show. His stomach clenched at the unfairness of the situation, but couldn’t begrudge Kaito his comfort. If Conan wanted to be a Sentinel to Kaito, he had to learn to do these things too.

That didn’t stop his mind from working over the murder.

“It was an allergic reaction,” Conan eventually replied to Kaito’s question. “She was allergic to some ingredient in her meal and didn’t realize this until she’d already eaten quite a large amount. I overheard her ex saying that she was allergic to mushrooms, so it was probably that the sauce was a mushroom based one instead of a brown gravy that it first appears.”

“So she just forgot to ask for a change?” Kaito asked. Conan shook his head.

“No, her waiter, there, was an ex of hers. He would know if she was allergic and could make a change to the item when he put it in.” Conan pointed out the man who shrunk away from Hattori when he looked at him. “But he didn’t. The order went through without change and arrived at their table.”

“So you think he did it?” Kaito asked, looking at the man. “Didn’t Hakuba and Hattori say that she had yelled at him when he came for their order? Public humiliation seems like a good, impulsive motive.”

“Perhaps…” Conan’s eyes skimmed over to another young lady who stiffened when Hattori turned to her. “But he handed them off to another waitress after taking their drink order. He didn’t handle the rest of their meal.”

“So that eliminates him?” Kaito asked.

“It draws attention to the woman, who is an ex of the _man_ ,” Conan replied, watching the Division One look between the two people. “She had some strong words against the victim before she ever brought their food. She seems to hold a grudge for the victim stealing her boyfriend.”

“So she brought the dish out to poison her?” Kaito guessed.

“But how would she know that the victim was allergic?” Conan asked. “At best, she would assume that the victim would just send the dish back when it wasn’t what she ordered. That creates more work for her. What’s more, after she delivered the food, the waitress quickly disappeared. She didn’t stay to watch and make sure the victim actually _ate_ the food.”

Kaito frowned, looking at the two suspects. How _did_ detectives find the right one in a situation like this?

“There are three strange things about this to me.” Conan held up two fingers and a thumb just as Hattori held up three fingers. “Why would she order a meal that could potentially kill her when she left her epi-pen at home? Without it, she should be even more vigilant about potential kitchen mishaps.”

Conan flipped a finger down as Hattori crouched next to the body. The Osakan rolled back the victim’s long sleeves as Conan continued with his explanation. “Two: the red rashes up her arm are an allergic reaction, most likely to a previous encounter, but how did they get there when she wore her sleeves down the entire time we’ve seen her? Clothing should present a good barrier between skin and other contaminants, so she shouldn’t have anything like this on her.”

Conan flipped down his last finger as Hattori stood and looked towards one person in particular. “Most importantly, three: why didn’t the man beside her notice her inability to breath as her throat closed up? Even if her reactions were dulled by medication, he was sat right next to her. He would have been able to hear her labored breaths, feel the way her chest wasn’t getting enough air. If that’s so… _Why didn’t he call for help_?”

Then Kaito realized.

Division One realized.

Every eye turned to the boyfriend, Haizuki Minato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That's done! And we got to see some KaiShin fluff! :) And now Conan is glaring at me because he really wanted to solve a mystery...
> 
> Before you go, I have a quick question! I am thinking about getting a Tumblr to post my drawings and stuff, but I'm not sure if Tumblr is a site I would like. I don't want something high-maintenance (ie, requiring constant updates/posts), nor do I want to join a site that will have a lot of 'hating' going on, but I still want something a little more interactive than DeviantArt. 
> 
> Is Tumblr a good option? Or should I stay away from it?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the ideas behind this fic.
> 
> PS - Early release due to a busy weekend schedule. Enjoy! :D

“You can’t be serious!” Haizuki spat out, face pale. “You can’t think that I, Himiko’s _boyfriend_ , would _murder her_! You _can’t_!”

“It’s all in the evidence,” Heiji said, hands in his pockets. “Neither of the other two would have had a chance to get close, to set it up so perfectly. If a number of things hadn’t happened beforehand, there’s no way this ‘accident’ could have been orchestrated.”

“So you think that _I_ have to be the one to do this?” Haizuki cut his hand through the air in a sharp gesture to the scene. “Even _you_ said it! It’s an accident! She just accidentally ordered the wrong meal!”

“But that’s not true, is it?” Heiji looked over toward the waitress. “Who was it that ordered?”

“Um… Minato-san,” Minoru answered, a nervous look on her face. “But he just said two of the same. People sometimes get two orders of the same meal, especially if they both like it. I didn’t think anything of it.”

“But as her boyfriend, you should have known that she was allergic. Yet, you didn’t ask for a change in the sauce —one known to carry mushrooms in it.” Heiji raised an eyebrow.

“Th-that’s just a mistake!” Haizuki protested. “Like I said! An accident! It’s not my allergy, so you can’t expect me to remember _every time_! And Himiko didn’t say anything about it! She should have said something!”

“I’m not so sure,” Hakuba cut in. He looked towards the waiter. “You said that Himiko always asked for the dessert menu, correct?”

“Yeah, she always loved desserts, but…” Oyashi frowned. “She didn’t this time. I thought it might have been that I just threw her off but…” He looked to Minoru.

“She didn’t ask me either.” Minoru shook her head.

“So she decided not to get dessert today?” Haizuki brushed them off. “If that’s the only proof you have, you’re off your rocker. There’s nothing to imply that I did anything on purpose here!”

“Is that so?” Heiji narrowed his gaze. “Then why didn’t you react to her asphyxiation? She must have grabbed onto you or tried to get help somehow. You must have known something was happening. You were too close to her to not _notice_.”

“I didn’t! I really didn’t! It… must have been the anti-histamine from earlier!” Haizuki explained. “She must have been drowsy and confused. She didn’t realize what was happening until she passed out! She was silent the whole time!”

“You know what I think?” Heiji interrupted before the man could make up any other excuses. “I don’t think she took an anti-histamine. If she had a common allergy, she would have known of an anti-histamine brand that didn’t make her drowsy, so she wouldn’t have gotten confused. The fact that she was, makes me think it wasn’t an anti-histamine she took. I think you drugged her.”

“W-what?! Why would I drug my _girlfriend_?!”

“So that she would be confused. She missed your change in order, forget about the dessert menu, and was shocked by Oyashi’s appearance, something she should have known since, according to him, he’s been working here since before they broke up. Someone in that state of mind, it would be all too easy to feed her something that would _kill_ her,” Heiji said without a shred of doubt in his voice. “It’d be easy to set it up too. You said you two lived together, right? You just had to wait for a day that she had a dermal reaction and offer a sleeping pill that you had disguised as some allergy med.”

“And she’d trust me enough to take it —that’s what you’re thinking, right?” Haizuki crossed his arms. “But she stayed away from mushrooms. None were allowed in our house and she never kissed me after I ate some, not for several hours or without brushing my teeth. How would I trigger a reaction from her?”

“You’re a delivery man, right? You help stock various restaurants?” Hakuba recalled from his notes. Heiji saw the man stiffen when he realized Hakuba knew his trick. “It just so happens that this restaurant had an order in this morning. Whose services do you think will show up in the records? Whose _face_ would show up on the surveillance cameras?”

The man gritted his teeth as an officer ran up. “Sir! It’s true! He appeared on the camera this morning!”

“And there were mushrooms in the shipment.” Minoru looked over at Oyashi. “That’s why I changed shifts, remember?”

“Yeah, you didn’t want to get a reaction with the spores in the air around the kitchen,” Oyashi confirmed. “A few hours and the air filter would have caught the all spores so you could work without worrying.”

“Prevalent as they were, there is no doubt that Haizuki just so happened to get spores on his uniform.” Hakuba drew himself up straight. “Spores that would induce a reaction in Futaku-san. No need to wait for an opportunity if you could just make one yourself, correct? The sooner you got rid of her, the better. After all, her complaining must get on your nerves. We heard it at the entrance. She complained about the restaurant, the line, the workers… yourself.”

The man grew more and more irritated with every item on Hakuba’s list until he finally exploded.

“That’s right!” Haizuki spat through his teeth. “That vile woman —she always complained that I never made enough money! That I should look for a better job! And when I save up money for a nice suit? One I can use for interviews? She takes the money and spends it on a new _purse_! Claimed it was an early birthday present from me to her! I saved up that money over _months_ of paychecks!”

“So you decide to kill her for revenge,” Hakuba concluded.

“Revenge? No.” Haizuki shook his head. “I killed her because I couldn’t take her complaints anymore. When I tried to fix it, she stole the money and put me back to square one, complaining all the while and I. Couldn’t. Take it!”

Haizuki laughed hysterically. “And now? It’s finally quiet! No more ‘get a better job’ or ‘take me somewhere nice’ or ‘what do you mean you don’t have enough?!’ Now, I don’t have to hear her anymore! Now, it’s _quiet_!”

“If you couldn’t handle her complaints, you should have just broken up with her!” Oyashi said, eyes fierce. “You didn’t have a commitment to her! You were _dating_ , not _married_!”

“So you say.” Haizuki turned his mad gaze onto the waiter. “But she did it to you too, didn’t she? She almost pushed you to the brink. You almost did the same. If she hadn’t broken up with you, you would be in my shoes right now! Don’t tell me you wouldn’t!”

Oyashi blanched, but didn’t offer any protests; his gaze cast aside in shame. Minoru placed a steadying hand on his shoulder as the police cuffed Haizuki and led him away.

Megure sighed at the scene before turning to thank the teens for their hard work.

“It was hardly any trouble,” Hakuba said, before offering to be the first to give his statement.

Heiji looked over his shoulder to where Kudou and Kuroba were. His friend stared at him intently, ignoring the way Kuroba cuddled him close. Heiji couldn’t help a grin and a casual thumbs-up. After a sigh and eye-roll, Kudou shot him one back.

Heiji had been worried that Kudou would hate him for making him sit this one out, but they were still cool.

After all. There was always next time.

*             *             *             *             *

After giving all of their statements, the four found themselves out on the streets again with the sun starting to set.

“Sorry about how the dinner went.” Heiji frowned at the darkening sky. “I didn’t expect it to take so long.”

Kuroba raised an eyebrow at him. “Weren’t you telling me before that you always find ‘fun’ when you hang out with Conan-kun?”

The boy in his arms turned to give Heiji a venomous look.

Heiji gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, but usually we solve it really quickly. Or it occurs faster? I don’t know how to explain it.”

Hakuba gave him a look. “I have to admit, when you had mentioned it before, I hadn’t quite believed you. Does this happen every time?”

Heiji grimaced and looked to Conan for help. The boy just shrugged and leaned against Kuroba again which —what was up with that?

Kudou _hated_ being picked up!

“Look, I’m not superstitious or anything.” Heiji held his hands out as if to give support to his statement. “I just noticed that there started to become a pattern. Whenever we met up, a murder followed not long after. It’s not like we went _looking_ for one —that’s what you thought, wasn’t it? You thought I was taking a _six-year-old_ to go looking for _corpses_. That’s why you tagged along.”

Hakuba ducked his head sheepishly. “I didn’t think you would… purposefully put him in danger, but… in the event of-!”

“In the event of a kidnapping or other situation, you wanted to be able to call for back-up.” Heiji rolled his eyes. “You’re just like my dad.”

“Thank you?”

“Wasn’t a compliment.”

“Well, you have nothing to fear tomorrow night,” Kuroba said cheerfully. Heiji tentatively checked the air, but no Guide-in-distress waves were tainting it, so Kudou must have done his job.

“What’s tomorrow night?” Hakuba asked the question Kuroba so obviously wanted them to.

“Whaaa? Haku-teme, you don’t know?” Kuroba looked outraged at Hakuba’s blank look, he fished out his phone to pull up a web browser. A few clicks, then he was shoving it into Hakuba’s face.

The blonde grimaced, then took a look and froze in the middle of the sidewalk. Curious and a little concerned, Heiji peered over his shoulder…

And came face-to-face with the KID motif.

_Now that the actors have appeared_

_I will return to the stage, clear._

_To take the sun in hand_

_And astound the land_

_As my wings let free_

_Wax I do not need._

_-Kaitou KID_

“A heist?” Heiji guessed, confused. “Wasn’t there one last week? I thought I heard about it on the news.”

“There _was_ ,” Hakuba grumbled, glaring at Kuroba’s vibrant grin. “KID apparently decided to cancel it when I left the museum beforehand.”

Heiji frowned, brow furrowed. “Why would he do that?””

“He likes to have all his ‘actors’ in place, myself included.” Hakuba handed back Kuroba’s phone and crossed his arms. “It’s part of his psychology, a flashy, _arrogant_ thief.”

Kuroba’s grin just few wider.

“Why did you leave, if you knew that?” Heiji asked.

“That’s…” Hakuba’s shoulders curved in. “Toyama-san arrived and… informed me that…”

Heiji’s eyes widened in realization. “That I was at the Center. You left because of me.”

Hakuba didn’t look at him, but the light flushing of his cheeks was answer enough.

“Anyway, you won’t have to worry about murders tomorrow night.” Kuroba flashed a blinding smile. “No one gets hurt at a KID heist!”

Conan scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

Kuroba stiffened minutely, expression frozen on his face.

“More like KID doesn’t have to worry,” Conan said, grumpily. “It won’t be a problem because I’m not going.”

“What?! But-!” Kuroba looked disappointed. “You’re KID Killer! KID’s nemesis! You’re part of the show!”

“And you like KID’s heist,” Heiji said, ignoring the glare from Kudou along with Kuroba’s obvious glee. “I’m not going to make you give that up. I can stay home.”

“No, you can’t. You need to be near Hakuba… nii-san.” Conan yawned to cover up his slip. “Besides, I’m going with the Professor and Shounen Tantei-dan on a camping trip. We leave tomorrow afternoon and will be gone all weekend.”

“That sounds fun,” Hakuba commented.

Conan gave him a dead-eyed look. “It’s punishment.”

Heiji laughed at Hakuba’s disturbed face.

“Well, I should probably get Ku- _onan_ back home.” Heiji quickly covered his slip up and offered his hands out. “His Onee-chan will be upset that I had him out so late.”

“I can take him,” Kuroba offered. Heiji couldn’t see the imperceptible tightening on his hands around Conan, but he could definitely see the change in his friend’s expression due to it. “You two go on ahead.”

“You don’t really mean that. His Onee-chan will take one look at you, think you’re Kudou-kun, and then try to pile-drive you into the ground,” Heiji said with absolute conviction. He laughed internally when Kuroba flinched back, no doubt knowing _exactly_ what Mouri Ran was capable of. He was thorough in his research after all. “Besides, being one person walking home in the dark is more dangerous than two. Use the daylight while you’ve still got it.”

“If you’re sure…” Kuroba looked down at Conan. He must have shown something reassuring in his face, because magician handed him over to Heiji without any more fuss. “See you all tomorrow!”

“See you!” Heiji yelled back with a wave before he and Hakuba turned away from the train station and towards Conan’s home.

“I can walk,” Conan grunted out.

“Aw, but you’re so small!” Heiji teased. “You’re travel-sized! It would be a waste-!”

“I will kick you.” Conan swore. “Just think of the places my feet can reach right now.”

“... And~ down you go!” Heiji said, placing Conan onto his feet. The teen-turned-kid brushed himself off and righted his shirt.

One that he hadn’t even _had_ that morning.

Oh great.

“Is Onee-chan going to say anything about your clothes?”

“Probably.” Conan shrugged. “But I’ll just tell her what happened.”

“The poison ivy?” Hakuba asked.

“Yeah.” Conan nodded. “She’ll be okay when I tell her, though she might tell me to rub bleach on it to get the oils off. She will want to pay Kaito-nii-san back for buying them for me.”

“Something tells me he’ll reject it.” Hakuba smiled slightly. “He has a bad habit of helping others at his own expense.”

“Yeah…” Conan said quietly. Heiji looked between the two, feeling like he was missing something.

Taking Conan’s hand in his, Heiji started forward. “All right. Time to get you home. You still need to pack for tomorrow, don’t you? Better not stay up too long tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Conan grumbled. Hakuba just smiled and followed, entertained by the unexpected friendship between child and teen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two weeks left until my next Hiatus guys. :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the idea behind this fiction.
> 
> PS - Guys, did you know that this story alone makes up about half of the word content in my SGN series? Isn't that something to think about... :)
> 
> Now, for KID's Heist! Who correctly guessed his magic trick?

Saguru once again found himself in a familiar museum over-looking a familiar exhibit, _Icarus’ Wings_. The lay-out was much the same as the week before –abnormally tall ceilings, the ridiculous skylight (an obvious security oversight), and the gem still in plain view. No obvious changes had been taken or added as far as Saguru could remember. He would have thought the owner would have invested in some kind of security system with the extra week’s worth of prep time, but he was sorely mistaken.

Nakamori’s men were stationed around the exhibit as before with strict orders not to allow anyone past. On the other half of the room, KID’s fans had gathered on the other side of a red velvet rope barrier, displaying signs and noise-makers and cosplayers as per usual. More men stood between them and the exhibit, but they didn’t appear phased by this. They rarely got to be in the same room as KID during heists, so they were taking the leeway with gratitude.

Nakamori himself was prowling the floor in-between, looking agitated as the time began to tick down. Saguru pulled out his pocket watch to check. Ten minutes until sundown, not long now.

“Hey, why are there so many people here?” Hattori cupped a hand around his mouth, like that would keep others from over hearing him.

“The director of the museum doesn’t have much in terms of petty cash. He only has the basics of a security system, one that couldn’t possibly stand up against KID.” Saguru snapped his watch shut. “So Nakamori called in more men to-!”

“No, not them.” Hattori jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “ _Them_.”

Ah, KID’s fan club.

Saguru grimaced. “KID once refused to pull a heist without an audience, so we let them as near as we are comfortable with. Otherwise, KID is likely to taunt us and waste more time and resources before he is eventually caught.”

Hattori gave him an unimpressed look. “That can’t be right. You can’t _possibly_ be pandering to a _thief_.”

Saguru’s grimace soured. “... The museum director also decided that this would be a great… opportunity. For his museum.”

Hattori blinked. “So he decided to get all the fans to pay premium to come watch KID and make a profit off of his own gem getting stolen?”

“KID has yet to actually _keep_ a gem, so it’s probably a safe investment.” Saguru sighed. “But yes, that is his plan.”

Hattori stared at Saguru like _he_ was the crazy one. “These guys are insane!”

“Unfortunately, he isn’t the first to get the idea,” Saguru grumbled before turning to his watch again. “Five minutes.”

“Until what?”

“Until the heist starts.”

Hattori’s eyes grew big. “How do you _know_ that?”

“Have you done _any_ research on KID?” Saguru fixed him with a glare. When Hattori’s unrepentant expression remained, Saguru sighed and explained. “KID always sends a heist notice with the time, place, and target. Usually in riddle, but sometimes he takes pity on Nakamori-keibu and just writes it outright.”

“I don’t remember anything about time in the notice.” Hattori frowned. “Then again, I wasn’t reading too carefully.”

“It’s in there, just hidden. Most of the references are to wings, the sun, and melting wax.” Saguru stated. “All of these are clues to an ancient fable about-!”

“Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun,” Hattori finished, looking towards the gem on the pedestal. “I got that much.”

“At least you aren’t _entirely_ incompetent.” Saguru huffed, irritated at being interrupted. He ignored Hattori’s enraged sputtering. “However, he also referenced the sun being set aflame, referring to when the sky is lit in reds, oranges, and yellows.”

Hattori wrinkled his nose. “I don’t remember that in the notice I read.”

“It was in the first one.” Saguru pulled out his phone to show his last search result —he’d wanted to be sure of his reasoning. Hattori made a discerning noise as he looked over the letter.

“So Sunset?” Hattori guessed. “Or, right after? The sun’s death makes it seem very… final.”

“Either-or,” Saguru confirmed. “Most likely, his trick will start at sundown and continue past. With the cover of night, he has an easier method of escape.”

“Sounds like he’s got this planned down to the minute.” Hattori crossed his arms. “But what’s to say he won’t lead you on and then start late, or early? You can’t possibly trust a thief to show when he says he will.”

“Before I started chasing KID, I would have agreed.” Saguru pocketed his phone, not wanting to lose it in the chaos that would soon ensue. “But after so many months… I have many examples to pull from. KID has, not once, broken his word.”

Hattori grew silent, watching Saguru with sharp, calculating eyes. Saguru knew those eyes. He possessed a pair himself. Eyes that could see things that most people didn’t even know were there; eyes that could stare into his soul.

It felt frightening to be on the receiving end of that stare.

Abruptly, Hattori blinked and looked through the skylight above, noting the coloring of the sky. “Sundown’s almost here.”

“Indeed,” Saguru agreed, straightening his shoulders now that the weight of the stare was off him.

“What was the line about grasping the sun?” Hattori asked. “As far as I know, Icarus tried and failed. What could it have to do with anything here?”

“I…” That stopped Saguru up short. It was a line he had read and dismissed. He frowned at nothing. “I don’t know.”

And he didn’t.

*             *             *             *             *

This was it. The crowd rumbled below. The officers of his Taskforce straightened when the bell began to toll. His own heart counted down with every heavy pound.

He lived for this moment —for the calm before the storm, adrenaline singing in his veins making him giddy and calling upon KID’s special grin. What he had planned for tonight only made him grin brighter.

Hakuba and Hattori were down below. The crowd was counting down. All his actors were in place.

3…

2…

1…

_Showtime!_

The lights went out, to a cheer from the crowd and curses of the Taskforce (mainly Nakamori).

“Oi! Get some light on us in here!” Nakamori yelled into his walkie-talkie. “Shine it through the sky-light!”

One beat, two —then a spotlight shown in, illuminating a single figure hovering in mid-air, nothing beneath him. The crowd went wild.

“What’s wrong KID?” Nakamori taunted. “Run out of ideas? Had to redo a previous trick?”

“Au contraire, Keibu-dono.” KID held his hands wide. “This is merely my opening act. After all, what would a performance be without a little… suspense?”

A snap of his fingers and the lights returned. Only, they weren’t safely ensconced in their casings twelve feet above the crowd’s head. No, they were suspended, floating at varying heights around the room, scattered and skewed to each other. KID himself stood on the tallest one, arms crossed and face smug.

“Though I guess suspen _sion_ makes more sense, no?”

“Kai-tou _KID_!” Nakamori growled. “What have you done?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” KID gestured to the lights. “I’ve caught the beams from the sun to use in my performance! Nothing but the best for my fans! After all, I had to make up from last time’s cancellation.”

The crowd made a vague agreeing/cooing noise that Nakamori had to yell over. “KID! Get down from there this instant!”

“So you and your men can catch me?” KID huffed. “Not likely.”

“You’ll get hurt, you idiot! So, get down-!”

“Watch me,” KID challenged as he subtly started swinging the beam, careful to keep his hands away from the supporting wires. Touching those would beak the illusion after all. Besides, he had practiced long and hard at the gym to be able to do this routine without a safety net. Well… technically.

At the apex of the swing, KID leapt off, to the crowd’s dismay and Nakamori’s terrified cursing. Hands outstretched, he grabbed hold of the beam well within reach and grinned when the inspector breathed a sigh of relief before he could remember himself.

The make-shift trapeze met its climax and KID was in the air again, performing a perfect flip before grasping the next. This continued with KID stealthily making his way over the crowd and Taskforce and towards his target. His path was haphazard, having to double back or scale up when the Taskforce’s reaching hands got too close. Kaito was very grateful for thinking to get shaded contacts. He’s not sure how long he would have been able to look at the lights otherwise.

In the middle of all this, Kaito felt Hakuba reaching for him, trying to find his mind, to weasel in and find _proof_ of KID’s identity. Normally, Kaito just made himself invisible to the blonde’s mind, but tonight, he had something else planned.

Instead of disappearing, he pushed his mind forward, just… with someone else’s memories instead of his own. A little twist, a little tweak and…

_The Taskforce pounded through the exhibit like a stampede of buffaloes along hard-packed earth._

_His own laughs sounded like cannon blasts in his ears._

*             *             *             *             *

Hakuba’s eyes widened.

_KID flew through the air, heart thundering, literally, in his ears. His gloves beneath his fingers felt like coarse sandpaper over soft pine._

His breath stopped. Those impressions, those sensations _…_

_It felt like his skin would break open any minute and leave a trail of blood in his wake._

Could it be? That KID was a-?

No… no! Kuroba was a Guide! Rank E, but a Guide none-the-less! He could never be a _Sentinel_!

But that mind, those feelings… they were very obviously a Sentinel that had just come online. And it still held the flavor KID’s mind always had, when Hakuba was able to find it. There was no other conclusion.

KID was a Sentinel.

Kuroba was a Guide.

The two could not be the same.

*             *             *             *             *

Heiji stared at the figure flying through the air on delicate beams and knew, in an instant, what he was trying to pull off. Heiji felt the ripple of _Sentinel, friend, ally_ , but alongside it came _wrong, fake, hoax_.

He recognized the mindset of a Sentinel, but knew, instinctively, that it was just a Projection, a _trick_ set up by KID.

It was a trick that made Heiji’s blood boil —more so when he saw the befuddled look on Hakuba’s face. He looked like the world had crumbled out from under him.

Heiji knew what Kuroba was doing. He was keeping his identity safe, or so he thought. Heiji would have to tell him otherwise.

*             *             *             *             *

KID caught sight of Hakuba in the crowd, watching him with wide, befuddled eyes. Internally, he grinned. Poor Hakuba, he didn’t know what to think in the face of Kaito’s trick. Too bad he wasn’t a better Guide, one who could see through KID’s play.

Task one was done. Now for his main goal…

One more twist and flip and KID found himself before his prize. He caught the next beam, did a half-flip that hooked his legs around the light fixture, and swung upside down to snatch up _Icarus’ Wings_ from its podium. Hands firm on his hat and the gem, KID righted himself before the Taskforce could grab hold of his cape. He held up his trophy to his crowd. Their cheers were deafening.

“Put that back!” Nakamori ordered. “And surrender, KID!”

“Oh?” KID cocked his head to the side, tucking the gem away. “And why should I do that? I had a good performance, no? Maybe I should take this as my tip!”

“ _Kaitou KID_!” Nakamori yelled in warning to his taskforce, he yelled. “Get him! Take the lights down if you have to! Just _capture him_!”

“And that’s my cue!” KID sang as he started his momentum once again. The second routine was tricky. Nakamori’s men were already on the roof, hauling up the lights by the anchors Kaito had set completely at random. KID had to be constantly vigilant or he’d find himself flying towards empty air. It had already happened twice, the beam he had been for abruptly shifting up. By Luck’s favor, he managed to catch and swing himself off it before it could disappear, but time was running out and so were his beams.

Soon, he found himself hanging off the last trapeze left, above the heads of the crowd and Nakamori’s grinning face.

“Looks like you finally tripped up, idiot thief!” Nakamori crossed his arms. “Nothing up your sleeves can save you now!”

“Don’t you know, Keibu-dono?” KID held his hat to his head with one hand, the other taking the strain of his weight. “A smart magician never performs without a safety net.”

Then he let go and dropped…

Into the arms of his waiting fans.

“Hah!?” Nakamori screeched over the wail of cheers. KID laughed as he body-surfed towards the door, hearing Nakamori far behind him. “Out of the way! Out of the _way_! KID! Get back here!”

Before the end of the crowd, KID ducked down, falling into the bodies and out of sight. Three seconds later, KID had disappeared entirely. Not even the people who had stood next to him could explain where he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I had fun writing this heist, even though it was low on the 'magic' end of the spectrum. :) I think I like writing heists better than writing murder mysteries...
> 
> One more week, guys, then a hiatus notice.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the idea and technique behind this fic.
> 
> PS - Last chapter guys! I started this installment with some HakuHei and I'm going to end it with more! I also reference Conan's Camping trip, which will be another installment at a different time. However, that will be labelled with only the HakuHei tag, no KaiShin, only because Kaito does not show up in the chapter at all (or at least, not according to my current plans). When this will come out, I have no idea.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy the last chapter here!

Heiji tracked the feel of the fake Sentinel until he had left the area. The police were still scrambling over the scene and the crowd wasn’t allowed to move until Nakamori had checked each and every one of them, but Heiji knew already. The feel of the fake Sentinel had disappeared out the front of the museum, so KID was long gone.

Crossing his arms behind his head, Heiji canted his hip to the side away from Hakuba. “Oi, how much longer is this going to take? I know I have nothing better to do with my Friday night, but I sure don’t want to spend it waiting around for the Taskforce to take our statements.”

No answer.

“Oi, Hakuba-!” Heiji’s rant cut itself off at the look on Hakuba’s face.

He looked _devastated_.

The blonde was pale, paler than usual, with a blank set to his face. His lips trembled slightly, as if mouthing words to himself as he stared at the place KID had once posed. His eyes were wide, trapped in some emotion that physically _hurt_ Heiji to look at. “Hey. Hey! Are you okay?”

Hakuba’s gaze shifted to him, but he didn’t answer. Instead, the mute words on his lips were given volume. “He can’t be a Sentinel. It’s not possible. Kuroba is a _Guide_. KID can’t be a Sentinel if Kuroba is a _Guide_ -!”

Some people from the crowd were slowing down, turning back. They locked onto Hakuba with the same, painfully confused look. Their lips started to tremble in a mirrored version of his. A dark hand twisted Heiji’s stomach.

 _Shit_. Heiji cursed himself for missing the signs. The dark emotion pulling at Heiji was the Guide-In-Distress he’d been warning Kudou of not a day before. The KID fans stopping in the crowd? Other Guides, low-level, responding to Hakuba’s distress and echoing it further and further out, until a Sentinel would finally get the message to help.

In other words: Guide Shock.

Guide Shock wasn’t all that common, only happening when a Guide ran across something that their increased mental capacities couldn’t handle. For Kuroba, it had been the sight of a cruel and pointless murder. For Hakuba, it had been KID’s Sentinel Projection. Small, but when posed with the fact that capturing KID was Hakuba’s current goal in life? And he’d just lost the biggest suspect he’d had?

That managed to tip the scales.

“Hakuba, hey!” Heiji grabbed hold of the other teen’s shoulders. “You need to snap out of it! Do you hear me? Hey!” His hands moved to cradle the other’s face, forcing the slightly taller teen to lean down. “Listen to me! It’s not a big-!”

“But KID is a Sentinel,” Hakuba said, his words having never quieted as he ran himself in circles. “I felt it. I _know_ it. He’s a Sentinel, but he _can’t_ be. He needs to be a _Guide_ -!”

Heiji cursed himself. He’d been hoping that Hakuba hadn’t managed to fall too far, but his own stupid lack of observation force his hand. Pressing his hands to Hakuba’s ears, Heiji frantically dialed up one of his senses — _any of his senses_ —so that he could distract-!

**“-show was the best!”**

**“-caught it on film!”**

**“-have a party coming up. Think he would-?”**

**“-DON’T CARE IF IT TAKES ALL NIGHT! FIND-!”**

**“Bark bark bark bark-!”**

**“-all the commotion about?”**

**“Who knows-?”**

Heiji winced as an influx of background noise suddenly flared around him. All the fans droned like the roar of a turbine, their voices like an engine in his ears. Further out, Nakamori was screaming at his Taskforce, so loud it felt like Heiji’s ears would bleed. Past even _him_ were cars on the road, roaring past like monsters chewing up the concrete.

It was so much, too much! If he kept listening, he might go deaf-!

 _No, no, no!_ Heiji clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. _Range in. Range in!_

**“-start with the crowd. It’s his signature move-!”**

**“Keibu! We found footage of someone leaving-!”**

_Range in._

**“-wonder what the next one will be like?”**

**“When does he even have time to-?”**

_Range in_ _._

And in and in and _in_ until it’s just the space immediately outside of Heiji’s space bubble, just him and Hakuba. He needed something to focus on, something consistent, rhythmic; something…

**Tick… tick… tick…**

_There!_

Centered between them, chest level, from Hakuba’s left breast pocket.

**Tick… tick… tick…**

Hundreds of tiny gears, grinding, spinning, _singing_ in unison. Chaotic in their inner workings, but with that same thread of rhythm, of _point_ —a reason for the chaos.

**Tick… tick… tick…**

Heiji continued to listen, continued to _focus_ on the sound of Hakuba’s pocket watch, until it was the only thing he could hear. Until it was the only thing _Hakuba_ could hear. Until Hakuba stiffened, then shuddered and hands came up to cover Heiji’s own. Until a distant tug made it slowly fade into the background and Heiji found himself blinking, a little dazed.

“Are you back with me?” Hakuba asked.

Heiji shook himself and removed his hands from Hakuba’s ears. “More like, are _you_ back with _me_?” At Hakuba’s confusion, Heiji explained. “You went into Guide Shock when you felt that KID was a Sentinel.”

“Because it doesn’t make sense-!” Hakuba frowned. “Wait a minute… you don’t seem surprised. About what KID’s status is?”

“Sentinels can sense other Sentinels.” Heiji made a face. “It’s just some kind of ‘awareness’ that we’ve got going on.”

“So you knew?” Hakuba’s face stiffened in anger. “All this time, you knew he was a Sentinel and _didn’t tell me?_ ”

“Can’t say I did.” Which was the truth. “I’ve never been to a KID heist, never had a run-in with him before.” Also true. “I didn’t know he was a Sentinel.” Not quite the truth.

Hakuba examined him, eyes roving over Heiji’s face, looking for signs of a lie. He must rely too much on his Guide powers to see into other’s minds, because he didn’t catch Heiji’s not-quite-truths. Instead, he let out a sigh and released one of Heiji’s hands to rub at his temple. Heiji realized with a start that Hakuba hadn’t yet released his other. He didn’t say anything.

“Are you okay?” Heiji asked, ignoring the hand on his and the weird flutters it caused in his stomach. Probably just something he ate.

“Fine,” Hakuba answered automatically before seeing Heiji’s nonplused look. “Tired. A little… overwhelmed.”

“How about we head home?” Heiji asked, looking over his shoulder to the depleting crowd. “Do we have to give a statement?”

“I come to these so often that Nakamori just hands me a form and asks me to write my own,” Hakuba said, blinking his eyes slowly, as if they were hard to keep open. “He will probably not mind if I offer to do the same for you.”

“Then let’s get those forms and get home.” Heiji gave a light tug on his other hand, coaxing Hakuba to start walking. The blonde followed without much protest. Forms in hand, Heiji led them out of the museum and to the bus stop.

Even though he had been the one to Zone, Hakuba looked far worse-for-wear after the ordeal. So Heiji made up his mind to take the outer seat on the bus, to keep others from bothering Hakuba. And if he sat just close enough for Hakuba to fall asleep on his shoulder on the way home? Well, that was no one’s business but his own.

*             *             *             *             *

Kaito flopped onto his bed and let out a laugh. His nerves still thrummed under his skin, the adrenaline not quite gone, just like the echoes of cheers of the crowd still hadn’t left his ears.

It was a good heist. He’d succeeded in his task, both the gem and keeping his identity. With his little mind trick, Hakuba would finally leave him alone. After all, a person couldn’t be both Sentinel and Guide, both yin and yang. It just didn’t happen.

The hours and hours of training and memory adjustment were worth it for the look on the blonde’s face. Of course, keeping his identity secret was also worth the work, but mainly the blonde’s face.

Sighing in relief, Kaito held up the gem to the moonlight filtering his bedroom window. It wasn’t a full moon, so he couldn’t return the gem just yet. He’d have to wait until after his next heist and return both this and the next. His next heist would be in… just three weeks? Ugh, he didn’t even have a target yet! And no trick in mind! Maybe he could skip next time?

No, Kaito knew he couldn’t.

Skipping even one heist held him back from finding the men who’d killed his father, from finding Pandora, the jewel his father had died for. He couldn’t afford to slack.

The clock in his house chimed, resonating deep in Kaito’s bones. It was louder than normal, _too_ loud. His clothes also felt too rough, like…

_Coarse sandpaper against soft pine._

Kaito froze, then buried his face in his hands and groaned. He tried to form a Shield around himself, to block out the memories he’d used, but it was a thin, flimsy thing that cracked at the first brush of physical sensation. His Shields were _useless_ against his own Projection.

Was this the price of copying a Sentinel’s mindset? Were the echoes of overloaded senses his penance? And if so how long would he have to deal with them? He had never used his Projections like this in training, so he had no reference to draw from.

Would they still be there come Monday? Would Hakuba be able to sense his trick? Would he rat Kaito out?

Maybe he shouldn’t have…

No! This is something he had to do! Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if it would work, but his gamble had paid off. Hakuba had been thrown off his tail. He would start looking for new suspects for KID’s identity. And Kaito?

Kaito would take some painkillers and hope that they fixed this problem he was having.

(They didn’t, but by the end of the weekend, Kaito could fix a Shield in place to cover the last vestiges of lingering _Sentinel_ in his mind.)

*             *             *             *             *

Hattori was glad that Monday was finally there. After the heist at the beginning of the weekend and the mishap with Conan’s camping trip (that’s a story for another day…), he was almost as exhausted as when the weekend had started. At least in school, he could afford to zone out for a few hours. He could always study on his own to catch back up.

But he couldn’t quite zone out yet.

He’d been planning this intervention all weekend. Kuroba needed to know: that stunt he pulled at the last heist? Couldn’t be allowed anymore.

Though he was sure it wasn’t Kuroba’s purpose, it really messed Hakuba up. The rest of the weekend had seen the Brit in a strange, depressed state. Hakuba had recovered after helping with finding the Shounen Tantei-dan, but still… It rankled on his Sentinel Instincts, but Heiji couldn’t rat out the thief. After all, that would be endangering a Guide, even if it wasn’t his own.

He couldn’t reveal the trick… but he could prevent another repeat, which was why he found himself at someone else’s desk for Monday Lunch. He’d stolen the chair in front of Kaito and sat backwards in it, eyes fixed to Kuroba’s form. The other teen was relaxed, gaze on his tablet as he scrolled through the latest news articles about his heist. For all intents and purposes, he was ignoring Heiji.

It kind of ticked Heiji off.

“You know…” Heiji started slowly, keeping an eye on Kuroba’s inattentive expression. “Kaitou KID’s trick was really cool Friday night.”

Blue eyes looked up, sparking with glee.

Now he had his attention.

“Wasn’t it?” Kuroba gushed, general awe and happiness exuding from him. “Although it looked more like a gymnastics routine, the floating light beams were amazing! And how he hung on them without breaking? How’d he do _that_ when they’re made of _glass_?”

“I was talking about his other trick,” Heiji said, quietly, careful not to call Hakuba’s attention to himself. The Brit was currently up speaking with their homeroom teacher, inquiring about something on one of their homework assignments. Heiji refocused on Kuroba. “His… _secret_ trick.”

Kuroba looked at him with innocent curiosity.

Well, if _that’s_ how he wanted to play at it…

“Projecting the mindset of a Sentinel is impressive, shows a lot of power.” Heiji leaned forward, elbows on the back of the chair and eyes sharp. “And is also very risky.”

Kuroba frowned at Heiji, like he didn’t quite know what to do with this information.

“Did you know that Sentinels can sense other Sentinels if they are online? It’s useful for finding help in a crowd, but it has another use.” Heiji lifted an eyebrow. “It can help them detect a fake, no matter how well disguised.”

Kuroba’s face went carefully blank.

“KID is no Sentinel,” Heiji said, “and if he wants to keep that card close to his heart, he needs to check the crowd for Sentinels before he attempts to Project again. He should also give thought to how… _shocking_ it might be for Guides in the audience.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Kuroba asked stiffly.

Heiji blinked, dropping his serious demeanor. “What are you talking about? I thought KID was your idol! I thought you’d like to know these things?”

“What things?” Hakuba chose that moment to join them. The look towards Kuroba was as suspicious as ever, thought tempered by confusion and guilt. He hadn’t overheard them.

“How KID did his tricks last night,” Heiji grinned a shark’s grin as Kuroba flailed.

“No! No! No!” Kuroba gestured harshly with his hands. “You can’t reveal a magician’s tricks! That’s against the rules!”

“Wires and Plexiglas,” Heiji deadpanned to a cry of dismay from Kuroba. “It’s a trick that takes several weeks to set up. Maybe even months. He had to replace every light fixture with a more durable one —Plexiglas or bulletproof glass —and then string up a new electrical system that used fiberglass electronics instead of typical wires. Time and effort, not to mention _costs_ , would be through the roof! All for one night…”

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Kuroba whined, splaying out on his desk. “You’ve ruined it! The magic of the night! Ruined for some critic’s pleasure!”

“Yeah…” Heiji leaned back onto the desk behind him. “But that _cost_ though!”

“True magic has no price!”

“That’s ridiculous,” Hakuba huffed, taking a seat to Hattori’s left. He crossed his arms and placed one knee over the other. “Even _amateur_ magicians know that in order to turn a profit, they need to make tricks as cheap as-!”

Heiji settled back, glad to see his Guide… glad to see Hakuba looking a little more stable. Even if he didn’t believe Kuroba was KID anymore, he still seemed to get more animated with every second he argued with the magician. And Kuroba…

Heiji frowned.

He didn’t know if Kuroba would take his message to heart or if he would ignore Heiji entirely. After all, dealing with the fall-out of Guide Shock wasn’t Kuroba’s job. It was Heiji’s. And Heiji was far from practiced enough to read Kuroba, even if Kudou claimed it to be easy.

For now, all he could do was hope that Kuroba really thought about his warning, and —he cast a glance at Hakuba, face flushed from arguing —be prepared to handle the repercussions if he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Then a Hiatus notice and a short break. I'm sure you don't actually need the Hiatus notice, but I plan on explaining some of the projects that I am currently working on. The notice will be taken down when I start posting again.
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking with me this far! :) I have lots of things planned, so stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to say 'Good Job!' or 'Update Soon!' or 'Longer please!', just leave a Kudo (or a Kaito, I'm not picky).
> 
> If you have some critiques, please leave a comment below. I'm always looking to improve my skills, so any little bit helps.
> 
> If you want to leave a comment, but don't know what to say or what I'm looking for in comments, I've put a short outline of what I usually leave on stories in my profile. To find it, click on my pseudonym and then on the Profile tab.


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